County Delegation in Washington to Press for U.S. Aid : Budget: Officials will meet with Administration and congressional leaders. Billions of dollars are at stake.

In an annual quest for money and attention that has taken on special urgency this year, members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and other top county officials will descend on Washington today for talks with members of the Clinton Administration and congressional leaders.

At stake is billions of dollars in federal revenue for what county officials consider essential health, welfare and law enforcement programs that are subject to the hurly-burly of congressional appropriations and presidential review.

With the county facing serious budget problems that could result in a $1-billion deficit to begin the 1995-96 fiscal year, local officials will try to buttonhole, cajole, impress and sway anyone who can influence key legislation and spending decisions.

The county’s delegation, which this year includes Sheriff Sherman Block and Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, has scheduled a whirlwind of meetings that will begin with White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and continue with Los Angeles County congressional members; Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.); Atty. Gen. Janet Reno; Sen. Nancy L. Kassebaum (R-Kan.), who chairs the Senate’s Labor and Human Resources Committee; and the Republican Task Force on California, chaired by Rep. David Dreier (R-Covina).

But at a time when a tough-minded Congress seems poised to reshape traditional ties between local and federal government, the supervisors land on the Potomac feeling a bit ornery themselves.

Representing one of the largest economies of any locality in the nation and a population that exceeds that of all but eight states, the county officials seem intent on pressing their case that their continuing fiscal problems could reverberate widely and ultimately stall California’s economic recovery.

“We intend to convey to members (of Congress) that Los Angeles County is an important economic player in the country,” board Chairwoman Gloria Molina said.

To further its goal, the county has adopted positions on a number of key federal initiatives that could have a significant impact on the county, including welfare reform, the crime bill and disaster assistance.

All are contained in the county’s own “Federal Issues Papers,” a thick booklet illustrated with graphs, pie charts and an aerial shot of Downtown Los Angeles, ready for distribution to all and sundry.

In broad outline, the board’s positions include:

* Support for funding of federal health, welfare, social service, job training, anti-crime, housing and community development programs that help finance county services and the funding of any new block grant programs at levels comparable to current outlays.

* Support for caseload-related funding of public assistance programs, including Medicaid, to ensure adequate resources at the local level.

* Support for increased federal funding for border enforcement as well as reimbursement of state and local immigration-related costs. The county also favors continuing the eligibility of legal immigrants for federally sponsored social programs.

In addition, the county is hoping to persuade members of Congress to support a $6.7-billion disaster relief appropriation, with $4.8 billion slated for Northridge earthquake repairs and an $11.3-million appropriation for the Los Angeles County drainage project, which would fortify a portion of the county’s flood control system.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich said he will meet with Immigration and Naturalization Commissioner Doris Meissner to reinforce a number of county concerns involving illegal immigration and to press for federal reimbursement of the county’s costs of jailing illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

“We have made progress on these trips in the past and there have been times when we’ve been frustrated, but I think on many issues we will have a receptive hearing,” he said.

Dreier agreed, saying that congressional sensitivity to the needs of the nation’s most populous state will dovetail with the needs of the nation’s most populous county.