WASHINGTON INSIGHT

LIFE IS TOUGH: As scandals swirl, House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) and Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) are busily doing away with congressional perquisites. . . . On the way out are discounts on stationery and gift merchandise and use of the House gym and health club. Foley is also looking into ways to end free medical and pharmaceutical services--possibly by forcing members to charge them to their congressional health insurance policies instead. But other changes may be slow. A push to eliminate free reserved parking for lawmakers at National and Dulles airports runs into administrative problems: The spaces are available to diplomats and Supreme Court justices as well. . . . And Foley’s bid to appoint a professional administrator to oversee such enterprises is being blocked by House Republicans, who want to subject the entire House administrative operation to a higher-level inspector-general.