'Corrections Day' measures show bipartisan appeal - federal legislation that revises faulty regulations is passed by Congress - Brief Article

Nation's Business, Dec, 1996 by James Worsham

The end-of-session deluge of legislation on Capitol Hill brought with it the passage of a number of "Corrections Day" measures, which are aimed at fixing unworkable or unnecessary laws or regulations.

In 1995 and 1996, President Clinton signed 20 Corrections Day bills and vetoed one. Many of the 1996 measures were passed in the final months of the session: As of June 1, only eight of the 20 had been signed into law.

One signed bill eases requirements under metric conversion laws to allow the use of actual figures, not just round numbers (such as 3,123 centimeters instead of 3,000 centimeters), in determining the metric measurement of supplies used in the construction of federal buildings.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif, said the old rule added 15 to 20 percent to the costs of projects by requiring manufacturers to produce materials and supplies in new dimensions and shapes.

Another signed bill, sponsored by Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., strikes down an Environmental Protection Agency rule that required preapproval by the agency of state and local traffic-light-synchronization projects.

Under the new measure, the projects can be put into effect without such preapproval, and their impact will be measured as part of overall air-pollution monitoring.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich set up Corrections Day in 1995; in a Congress marked by partisan divisions, Corrections Day demonstrated that lawmakers could agree on bills to correct obvious problems.