European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bentsen favored for Treasury Post Linton expected to name economic team in midweek a Little Rock Ark. Apr Texas sen. Lloyd Bentsen has been informed that he is president elect Clinton Stop Choice for Treasury Secretary sources said saturday with a formal offer of the Cabinet Post Likely to come this week. New York investment banker Roger Altman a Treasury department official in the Carter administration is the top Choice to serve As Bentsen Stop Deputy one of the sources said. This source familiar with the discussions on building Clinton a economic team said Harvard professor Robert Reich Clinton a senior transition economic adviser was Likely to become chairman of the Council of economic advisers. Robert Rubin a co chairman of Goldman Sachs and a prominent democratic fund Raiser is the favorite to Lead a new economic Security Council the source said. A it wont be on paper until the Middle of the week but that a the Way it looks now a the source said. A a you la know next week a was All Clinton would say saturday when asked about published reports that Bentsen was his Treasury pick. A i never discuss appointments a til i make them. But two sources familiar with the Treasury search said the Texas senator was Clinton a Choice and had been informed of that late in the week. Both spoke to the associated press on condition of anonymity. Bentsen spokesman Jack Devore said late Friday that no formal offer had been tendered to Serif a sen the Senate finance committee chairman who was the democratic vice presidential nominee in 1988. In Austin Texas Bentsen declined comment saturday on speculation that he has been offered the Treasury Secretary a Post. Clinton is travelling to Washington on monday Bentsen and tuesday and is expected to name his economic team when he returns to Little Rock in the Middle of the week. Bentsen emerged As the front runner for the Treasury Post in the Days immediately after the election. Also said by senior Clinton aides and other sources to be in top Contention for a senior administration Post is House budget committee chairman Leon Panetta who has emerged As the favorite to head the office of management and budget. Former congressional budget office director Alice Rivlin also was in Contention for that Job or another Post according to a senior Clinton adviser. The Dallas morning news the new York times and the Washington Post reported saturday that Bentsen was Clinton a Choice. The Dallas paper said the Texas senator had been offered the Job. But the sources contacted saturday said no formal offer had been made because of uncompleted background checks and Clinton a practice of withholding formal offers until just before he is prepared to announce the pick. Still they said an offer to Bentsen was Likely by the Middle of the week. Clinton spokesman George Steph Nopoulos on Friday described Clinton As a on the verge of making several Cabinet appointments. However he said defense Secretary and Secretary of state would not necessarily be in the first group named. Clinton Steph Nopoulos said Felt no increased pressure to fill those posts because of the . Troop deployment to Somalia. President Bush on Friday ordered a operation restore Hope a a  Effort to pacify marauding bandits who have paralysed International humanitarian efforts to feed hundreds of thousands of starving somalis. Clinton endorsed Bush a action saying in a statement a i share his determination to ensure the Success of this important  also searched their Clinton files by Michael is1koff the Washington Post Washington a about the same time state department officials were searching through Bill Clinton a passport files the British government was conducting its own search through confidential files in London for material on the democratic presidential candidate a British government spokesman said Friday. Officials at the British Home office searched through immigration and naturalization files in Early october to determine if Clinton while he was a student at Oxford University had sought or inquired about obtaining British citizenship to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War said Graham Blakeway head of the news division of the Home office. The Home office search occurred while the Clinton Campaign was receiving reports that members of parliament from Britain a ruling conservative party had been approached by Republican party operatives about reviewing British files to find damaging material on Clinton former Clinton Campaign official Betsey Wright said Friday. But Wright said that her reports were second hand and third hand and until Friday she had no idea that such a search Ever took place. A a search was made it was comprehensive a said Blakeway in a Telephone interview Friday adding that no material on Clinton was found. Blakeway repeatedly called the search a a routine and a straightforward a saying it was done in response to numerous press injuries. But Blakeway also acknowledged that Home office policy strictly forbids discussion of any individual citizenship cases and that no information could have been released without Clinton a permission. Britain has no equivalent of the american Freedom of information act and British government agencies usually Are extremely reluctant to release information that is not already on the Public record. Nevertheless Blakeway said the Home office decided to conduct the search out of a sheer  once the search was completed he said the press office gave off the record press a a guidance to journalists that if they wrote that Clinton had Ever applied for British citizenship a it would be  the guidance was intended to prevent a strict a no comments response from being misinterpreted he said. The British government action adds a possible new wrinkle to the controversy Over the actions by senior state department political appointees in directing an exhaustive pre election search through Clinton a passport files in an Effort to find damaging material on the democratic presidential nominee in the closing weeks of the Campaign. State department officials initially defended the search on the grounds that it was conducted in response to Freedom of information requests from news organizations but later acknowledged that the requests were improperly expedited and that the departments responses were politically motivated and unprecedented in scope. A report late last month by Sherman m. Funk state department inspector general confirmed that Elizabeth m. Tamposi former assistant Secretary of state for consular affairs a who was fired aver the Clinton passport search a also called the . Embassy in London and directed that consular files there be  ready to take action on Jan. 20 president elect Clinton attends a Christmas Parade in Little Rock Ark., on Friday Washington a president elect Clinton could Start reversing Republican policies and making Good on his Campaign promises As Early As inauguration transition lawyers Are preparing a stack of executive orders that will be waiting for Clinton when he a sworn in on Jan. 20. A the wants to be Able to take action from the Day he takes office a said Bruce Reed Deputy transition director for Domestic policy. A the Point is to break the gridlock right off the Bat to show that he Wasny to kidding when he talked about  president Bush did not have executive orders drafted in Advance nor did president Reagan who came into office with ideas that differed greatly from those of his democratic predecessor. A i done to know Why Reagan did no to do it a Reed said. He said Clinton is in a hurry a to undo some of the damage that a built up Over the last 12  Clinton has already said he wants to cancel executive orders that ban the following homosexuals in the military research using fetal tissue and abortion counselling at federally funded birth control clinics. Another order would Stop the automatic return of haitian refugees to their Homeland. Transition teams Are drafting orders that would Cut the Federal bureaucracy limit Perks of executive employees and convert some cars in the Federal Fleet to natural Gas. During the presidential Campaign Clinton pledged to reduce Federal employment by 100,000 and require agencies to reduce administrative costs by 3 percent annually. He also wants to impose lobbying restrictions on his appointees. The policy teams Are exploring whether executive orders can play a role in reaching those goals Reed said. Clinton Isnit expected to sign All the orders at once. For example he has signalled plans to move slowly when it comes to requiring the military to accept homosexuals. Meanwhile Clinton spent Friday in the governors mansion in Little Rock Ark., mixing meetings on Somalia and transition business. Adm. David e. Jeremiah assistant chairman of the joint chiefs of staff briefed Clinton on the Somalia military action along with Cia and state department officials. Clinton spokesman George Steph Nopoulos said Clinton was a on the verge of making several Cabinet appointments. But Steph Nopoulos said defense Secretary and Secretary of state would not necessarily be in the first group named