NLRB Chief Scolded for Prop. 226 Stand

Lawmakers from both parties publicly chastised a high-ranking Clinton appointee Wednesday for revealing his opposition to California’s Proposition 226 on government letterhead and over a government Web site, calling for an inquiry into whether the official broke the law.

In a contentious hearing ostensibly about the National Labor Relations Board’s budget, one Republican essentially called Chairman William Gould a liar and suggested he step down.

“I don’t think a person who can’t tell the truth to this committee ought to be in your position,” Rep. Ernest J. Istook Jr. (R-Okla.) said after Gould tried to explain his comments on the initiative, which would prevent unions from spending dues on politics without members’ permission.

The hearing showed the increasing national attention being paid to Proposition 226, which appears on the June 2 ballot. President Clinton recently announced his opposition to the measure, prompting calls of “mind your own business” from state Republicans.

The fireworks at Wednesday’s hearing illustrated the heat the issue is generating within Washington political circles.

Those attacking Gould included Rep. John Edward Porter (R-Ill.), a moderate not prone to partisan attacks who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the NLRB.

“You have gone beyond the authority you have and may in fact have violated the law,” Porter told Gould, who was named to his post by Clinton.

The comments by subcommittee members came after the NLRB last month posted a press release on its Web site highlighting Gould’s criticism of Proposition 226. Gould, a former Stanford law professor who remains a California voter, had submitted to the state Legislature a detailed critique of the initiative.

It noted, among other things, that the measure would “cripple a major source of funding for the Democratic Party, given the fact that most donations by unions go to Democrats rather than Republicans.”

It was the Internet posting of that partisan statement that angered lawmakers, who contended that Gould had violated a labor law provision that prohibits use of NLRB funds to “support or defeat legislation,” except in direct presentation to a legislative body.

“Publishing the press release and putting it on the Web site went beyond first, your authority, and second, good judgment,” Porter lectured Gould. “It imperils the credibility and impartiality of the agency.”

Even Democrat Rep. David R. Obey of Wisconsin weighed in, urging Gould “to exercise much greater caution in the future.”

Gould said he was unaware of the law Porter believes he broke, and said he wished he had worded his critique more carefully. But he welcomed further investigation, saying he was confident he had not broken any laws.

“I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of or apologize for,” he told the panel. “I regret the diversion that this has caused.”

The NLRB is a nonpartisan agency responsible for resolving disputes between labor and management. Gould has been chairman for more than four years.

When his fellow NLRB members objected to the posting, Gould ordered the press release removed from the Web site. He launched a probe conducted by the agency’s inspector general, who concluded Wednesday that the law was not broken because the proposition is an initiative, not a bill pending in the Legislature.

But Porter requested a separate investigation by the General Accounting Office.

“You’re responsible for what goes on in your agency,” Porter told Gould. “You’re a lawyer. You’re a law professor. . . . You should have known about” the law.

Defending himself from such criticism, Gould said: “I consider myself a law-abiding citizen. I don’t think I violated this particular law.”

Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, a chief backer of Proposition 226, recently came to the capital to raise money for the initiative, predicting its passage would touch off a national movement to restrict the use of union dues.