WASHINGTON INSIGHT

LOVE AND TAXES: When the House last week was voting on the big tax cut bill that President Clinton signed Tuesday, House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) found himself standing next to a scion of one of America’s most elite--and wealthy--political families. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), turned to Armey and said, “I want to thank you for voting yes. You just helped my father receive $300,000 in tax benefits.” Armey, who recounted the exchange in a press conference last Friday, acknowledged that was not exactly what he had in mind. But he said he responded to the young Kennedy, “Patrick, I love your daddy more than you do because you voted no.”

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TOURIST TRAP: In the wake of the revelations of Democratic fund-raisers wooing fat-cat contributors with White House invitations comes a new scandal about access to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This is a much smaller-scale operation, though. It involves the scalping of the free White House tour passes that are distributed to the public five days a week on a first-come, first-served basis at the White House visitor center, where lines of tourists start forming before dawn. According to the National Park Service, the scalpers are scarfing up the free tickets, then hawking them to tourists for prices ranging from $5 to $50. The Park Service began a crackdown when some unfortunate tourists demanded refunds for out-of-date tickets. So far, though, no one has bought a pass to the Lincoln Bedroom.

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SAFETY SLANG: It may sound suspiciously like a bumper sticker, but the FAA is joining with private industry to initiate a new safety campaign titled “Turbulence Happens.” Intended for flight crews, flight attendants and aviation meteorologists, the campaign will feature an illustrated manual and 26-minute video designed to reduce turbulence-related injuries during flights, especially among children. “While not all forms of turbulence are avoidable, injuries often are,” says Acting FAA Administrator Barry L. Valentine. “Passengers must do their part by keeping their seat belts securely fastened at all times.” McDonnell Douglas, which Friday became part of Boeing Co., and the Air Transport Assn., the airline industry’s Washington lobby, are helping the government produce safety materials.

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THE REHAB TOUR: House Speaker Newt Gingrich may be a big-picture visionary when it comes to the affairs of state, but that capacity for long-range thinking apparently does not translate to his personal life. Even after Congress adjourned for its August recess, Gingrich still had no vacation plans and didn’t know how he’d spend the time. While some might proscribe for the speaker a secluded vacation hideaway that allows him to lick his recent GOP rebellion-inflicted wounds in private, perhaps he has decided the surest way to keep his post is to stay close by. Whatever Gingrich ends up doing, he won’t have much time to kill. In mid-August, he embarks on a cross-country round of speeches and town-hall meetings, including stops in Los Angeles and San Diego.

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SENSITIVE, NEW-AGE GUY: Speakers at Tuesday’s White House ceremonial signing of the budget-balancing agreement were nothing if not thankful. They thanked the White House budget team, congressional leaders of both parties, the president, their wives, the Cabinet. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) even thanked the GI Bill. But leave it to Vice President Al Gore to thank someone else’s wife. Gore not only praised Marianne Gingrich but also told her to stand so others could see her and acknowledge her contribution.