SECTION: DENVER & THE WEST; Pg. B-10

LENGTH: 384 words

HEADLINE: EDITORIAL Stare-down ends

BODY:
The nation soon will be treated to its sixth lame-duck  congressional session since 1971. Given the alternative, that is  probably a good thing.

The alternative was to continue right through Election  Day what had become a stare-down between Congress and President  Clinton over a number of tax and spending issues. The last several weeks have been characterized by a  stand-off in which Congress passed a number of continuing  resolutions that funded the federal government operation on a  day-to-day basis while work proceeded on assorted spending and tax  measures.

During this period, Clinton continued to make a series of  demands on Congress, most of which were stiffly resisted. The  president has insisted that Congress approve last-minute  legislation authorizing a major new amnesty for illegal  immigrants, approve major new expenditures for school construction  and put into effect new rules for workplace repetitive-motion  injuries.

The president also has demanded that Congress require  local school districts receiving construction funds to comply with  the federal Davis-Bacon Act, an act that mandates that  construction workers receive the 'prevailing wage.' What that  means, in practice, is the union wage. Republicans and some  Democrats object to this demand on the grounds that it will  automatically raise the cost of every school-construction project.

Critics of the president have claimed he is doing  little more than pandering to the nation's major labor unions.  Whether he is or not, the exercise had clearly become unproductive.

Congress was determined to wait out the president, and the  president didn't have quite enough support to impose his will on  Congress. Eventually, a truce seemed the only way out.

If the past is any guide, it can be hoped that by the  time Congress resumes business in mid-November tempers will have  cooled and many of the demands now on the table will be withdrawn.

Trent Lott, Senate Republican leader, predicts that  since only a couple of measures await action, the work of Congress  can be completed in a couple of days.

Unspoken at this point is the obvious point that the  election results can be taken into account. It's hard to object to  that.

LOAD-DATE: November 03, 2000