WASHINGTON INSIGHT

GOING SLOW: If Republicans retain control of the House in the Nov. 5 elections, at least one thing is going to be quite different: They aren’t going to make a jack-rabbit start next year like they did in 1995. When the 104th Congress began, the freshly powerful Republican majority plunged immediately into work on their “contract with America,” legislating like mad throughout January and their first 100 days in power. Members of the upcoming Congress officially will go to Capitol Hill on Jan. 7, 1997. But, according to the calendar drafted by House GOP leaders, serious legislative business won’t begin until Feb. 1. Asked why they’re planning such a leisurely opening, a House GOP leadership aide said dryly: “You can’t laugh when you hear this. Most of us are anticipating hearing from President Dole about his legislative agenda. We don’t want to jump-start things without him.” Of course, if the Democrats reconquer the House, the GOP schedule will become about as relevant as Enid Greene Waldholtz.

*

AIDING AL: So much for all the anticipation over rivalry between Vice President Al Gore and House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) for the Democratic presidential nomination four years from now. . . . Gore says that during the intense preparations for his debate last week with Jack Kemp, Gephardt offered the most useful guidance. “The single best source of advice, counseling and strategy that I got for that debate was the very long session that I had with Dick Gephardt, who had had an opportunity to debate Jack Kemp on a number of occasions, and he gave me more insights and more advice than anybody else,” Gore said Sunday in an appearance with Gephardt in suburban St. Louis.

*

LIMITED FREEDOM: In a dispute considered unusual even by Washington standards, a coalition of Catholic, Jewish and Muslim chaplains have joined in a lawsuit against the Pentagon for forbidding them to become advocates in a legislative dispute--in this case, one dealing with abortion. The chaplains argue that the Defense Department violated their rights of free speech and religious freedom last spring. At issue are memos the Pentagon sent to its chaplains prohibiting them from advising military personnel to join in a campaign to send postcards urging members of Congress to override President Clinton’s veto of a late-term abortion procedure, known by its critics as partial-birth abortion. “There is no more chilling instance of government infringement on religious liberty than the government censoring what can or cannot be said from the pulpit,” said Kevin J. Hasson, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed the lawsuit. The issue is a murky one, because federal law prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities as part of their official government duties. And the memos do clearly state that the ban “does not place any restriction on the ability of chaplains to discuss the morality of current issues in their sermons” or to communicate as private citizens with members of Congress.

*

PARTISAN PACKAGING: “Join the Energy Department and See the World!” proclaims one of this year’s most humorous, albeit barbed, campaign brochures. The Republican National Committee has put out a pamphlet that lampoons the high flying of Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary, whose wings were clipped after intense criticism of her travel at taxpayer expense. Color photos of the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal are featured along with such highlights as 14 overseas trips, a total of 328 days on the road and the lease of a charter plane that was once used by Madonna. Recalling O’Leary’s own blunt-spoken characterization of the aging aircraft as anything but luxurious, the GOP dubbed the travelogue: “Hazel O’Leary’s ‘Dog-Ass’ World Tour.”