The Nation - News from Jan. 12, 1988

Officials of the nation’s cities gave Congress and the Reagan Administration a “lousy report card” on the way Washington handles six key issues, a new report said. The 596 local officials surveyed by the National League of Cities characterized Washington’s work as “poor” or “inferior” on illegal drugs, housing, disposal of hazardous materials, unemployment, poverty and the federal budget deficit. The lowest mark overall went to Congress for its handling of the deficit, and the second lowest was given to the Administration for the same issue. Presidential candidates and the national media both scored a C-minus, the local media got a C, while the federal government got a D.