In O.C. Visit, GSA Director Presses Clinton Slate of Plans : Politics: Republican Roger W. Johnson laments the lack of business acumen in Washington in a speech at Cal State Fullerton.

The morning after the State of the Union address, the Clinton Administration’s highest-ranking Republican returned to his home county Wednesday to promote local support for the President’s slate of educational, economic and social reforms. Roger W. Johnson, head of the General Services Administration and former chief executive officer of Western Digital Corp. in Irvine, told more than 100 students and faculty at Cal State Fullerton that Clinton’s reform package will benefit the middle class and quiet the electorate’s clamor for streamlining government.

In his annual address before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night, Clinton advocated a “middle-class bill of rights,” which offers a tax exemption for college tuition and a $500 tax credit for children age 12 and younger in most families.

“Some have criticized this as a teeny-weeny tax break,” said Johnson, whose speech Wednesday continues an ongoing series in Southern California. “But this has nothing to do with a tax break, folks. It has do with a concept that we need to help middle-class America.”

Johnson, 60, also fired back at political pundits who criticized Clinton’s hour-plus speech as long-winded and confusing.

“Yes, he spoke for 80 minutes, but the problems are complex,” Johnson said. “I’m sorry, CBS, we can’t deal with the nation’s problems in 20 seconds.”

During his half-hour talk, Johnson acknowledged he has found himself at sharp odds with the Washington bureaucracy as he tries to scale back the GSA. With a budget of $60 billion, the agency’s 17,000 workers manage the government’s car fleet, real estate, computers, and other administrative functions.

Johnson blamed the Office of Management and Budget, which he calls “the single most stifling organization ever created,” for thwarting downsizing at the GSA.

The OMB favors a plan to reduce the overall GSA staff to 2,000 and save an estimated $1.4 billion over a five-year period. But Johnson favors an alternative restructuring to save $24 billion in the same period.

“There are billions and billions being wasted simply for lack of common sense,” Johnson said. “This isn’t rocket science.”

A corps of private sector managers experienced at handling large budgets could stem much of government’s imprudent spending, said Johnson, who noted he is the only Fortune 500 company head in high-level government service. Johnson soon will propose that the Administration recruit top-notch business managers to work two-year stints for government.

Though government pay can’t compete with private sector dollars, Johnson said he believes many would still be willing to serve out of a sense of civic duty.

“I get calls all the time from good people who want to help,” Johnson said. “But continuing to send people like me alone (to Washington) is useless.”

Johnson also urged his audience to hound elected officials, making sure they stay true to campaign pledges.

“Treat every day as if it were an election day,” said Johnson. “Washington needs to be brought back in touch. You and I are the only people who can do it.”

The electorate’s vigilance must even eclipse interest in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Johnson suggested. He said Cabinet officials were concerned Tuesday over the timing of the Clinton’s address, since it probably would be overshadowed by trial coverage.

In a brief question and answer period, Johnson lashed out at an investigation examining whether he violated government ethics rules. Allegations surfaced last year that Johnson used government staff, mail and phones for personal use, and that he failed to inform officials of changes in a severance agreement.

The charges, he said, have more to do with politics than wrongdoing.

“Ethics in Washington has become the new weapon of choice,” said Johnson. “When they can’t beat you on the merits of your argument, they pull this. I don’t think the good Lord himself could pass their rigid literal interpretation of the rules.”