Vacation Over, Clinton Readies ’98 Agenda

From white sands and swaying palms to the White House and politics, President Clinton’s tropical respite gave way to work Sunday as he returned to Washington to tackle the budget, Medicare and other issues.

Clinton, fresh from a six-day winter vacation with his family in the U.S. Virgin Islands, planned to meet with advisors first thing today for work on details of the budget proposal he wants to present to Congress early in February.

“I’m supposed to work,” Clinton reported with a small grimace en route from St. Thomas, where the most business he would admit to was reading a collection of advisors’ memos suggesting themes and phrasing for his Jan. 27 State of the Union address.

This week, he begins a series of appearances to give Americans a piece-by-piece look at what he will propose. On Tuesday, the president plans an announcement from the White House to detail a proposal to let people ages 62 to 64 pay up to $400 a month for Medicare health coverage.

The proposal drew brickbats Sunday from Rep. John R. Kasich (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Budget Committee.

“When we have a system that’s headed toward bankruptcy, to add more people to a system that’s running out of money doesn’t make any sense,” Kasich said on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press.”

On ABC-TV’s “This Week,” Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) said it’s a wise idea because “too many people in the country are either not old enough for Medicare . . . or they’re not poor enough for Medicaid, and they’re not fortunate enough to have a good health-insurance plan.”

In a virtual repeat of his 1997 New Year’s retreat, Clinton went to the secluded island beaches with his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea.

Chelsea, on holiday break from Stanford University, returns to school Tuesday.