Arctic Wildlife Refuge, Tax Code Among Deals

Under normal circumstances, special deals struck in the midst of the year-end hurly-burly on Capitol Hill do not come to light until long after the final spending bill is enacted. Frequently, even printed summaries of the bills are not available until days later.

But this year, because the decision-making has been delayed by an ideological test of wills between the president and Congress, they have received more scrutiny.

President Clinton, in his veto message on Dec. 6, listed 82 specific provisions of the omnibus spending and tax bill that he opposed. In addition, a number of public interest groups such as the Center for Responsive Politics have published their own lists of obscure special-interest provisions.

Included among the pending special-interest deals are those that would:

* Open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration--something the energy industry has been seeking for many years over intense opposition from environmentalists.

* Grant a two-year extension exempting the airline industry from a previously enacted increase in the aviation fuel tax, which would otherwise add $900 million to federal revenues.

* Provide free federal insurance to many commercial banks, saving them $5 billion a year, by capping payments into the Bank Insurance Fund.

* Exempt recreational boaters from a 1993 law that imposed a 4.3-cent-per-gallon tax on diesel fuel used for their pleasure craft.

* Weaken enforcement of the Endangered Species Act and exempt an Arizona telescope project from environmental restrictions that advocacy groups contend would protect the Mt. Graham red squirrel.

* Ease some regulations imposed on the nursing home industry, including reducing penalties and training standards for nurses’ aides--changes the nursing home owners say are minor.

* Alter attempts by the IRS to require restaurants to pay Social Security taxes on workers’ tips as far back as 1988. Instead, it would exempt tips income before December 1993, when a special offset was enacted.