European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 3, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Congress members will be facing some Tough challenges that could put re election for Many of them in jeopardy. What to expect inthe year ahead the biggest Issue facing president Clinton and first lady Hillary is the Selling of their health care system to an Uncertain America. Stock Market observers Are predicting the Dow average will finish 1994 at or near 4,000. By the associated press n the blink of an Eye 1993 turned to 1994. And a year of Bill Clinton John and Lorena Bobbitt Naftal Barney the Dinosaur a sluggish Economy and a flooded Midwest turns to what. No one can say precisely what the next 12 months hold in store but some events Are looming in the distance. Here a few associated press reporters and editors look at what s ahead for the year politics an ambitious Effort to reshape the nation s health care system will be the Premier Issue facing president Clinton and Congress in 1994. But Trade crime and other items should keep lawmakers As Busy As they were in 1993. The Agenda is Long and the political hurdles Are High. With the entire House and one third of the Senate facing re election year and some members eyeing possible presidential races in 1996 the ingredients Are there fora difficult session. The health care initiative Clinton s top legislative goal will probably dominate lawmakers schedules. Another top Clinton Campaign priority revamping welfare also probably will be sent to Congress this year. It s unclear if lawmakers will get to it because it is in the Domain of the same House and Senate committees that will consider health care. Lawmakers will face another fight Over Trade this one Over an Accord lowering barriers among.116 nations. The general agreement on tariffs and Trade covers everything from tourism to textiles. But because the pact is so Broad it May not see As bitter a Battle As was waged last year when Congress approved the North american free Trade agreement. Although the heart of Clinton s economic recovery plan was enacted last year in his huge deficit reduction tax Bill More budget fights remain. Conservatives and some liberals want to slash spending by tens of billions of dollars. They also want a constitutional amendment requiring but not leading the Way to a balanced budget. One of the grit Tiest budget fights will be Over defense spending. Clinton and Many democrats want a Long term reduction in military expenditures to help finance  training and other Domestic initiatives. But Pentagon officials and congressional republicans Are already warning that additional cuts will jeopardize the nation s might. Crime will be Back on Congress plate. House Senate negotiators will have to solve differences Between Bills passed by both Chambers financing the hiring of extra police officers and creating new drug treatment programs. Congress will also try to finish some internal business. Both Chambers Are studying whether to shrink the number of committees and change their ethics processes. They also must shed differences from competing Bills that would change the Way political campaigns Are financed. Alan Fram financial advisers say they re cautiously optimistic about the investment Outlook for 1994. The general consensus is that the . Economy which was expected to grow nearly 3 percent for All of 1993 should continue to expand in 1994, with forecasts ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent annual growth. Interest rates Are expected to increase Only modestly even though most economists say the Federal Reserve is Likely to tighten credit slightly around a Quarter percentage Point to keep inflation at Bay. All that should Bode reasonably Well with . Stocks and Bonds Many economists say. In the Treasury Bond Market economists say Short term interest rates Are expected to Edge up but remain below 4 percent and Long term rates should stay Well below 7 percent. That s Good news for borrowers who Are still looking to buy new Homes and cars but not so Good for those looking for interest bearing investments. For stocks some Market watchers expect the Dow Jones Industrial average to end 1994 at or near the 4,000 Marl which is about 7 percent above current Levels but Only after suffering what they describe As a correction manufacturing stocks particularly shares of automakers Are expected to do particularly Well according to some Market watchers. Many financial experts however see More opportunities overseas. They say they expect most european markets and Mutual funds tied to them to do particularly Well because of the ongoing reduction in interest rates there and the elimination of Trade barriers. Latin american countries especially Mexico also will get an added boost from the North american free Trade agreement they say. Vivian Marino science proceeds on a serendipitous path but it s Safe to say one of the biggest discoveries of 1994 will be the capture of the Long sought breast cancer Gene. Breast cancer struck an estimated 182,000 american women last year Many of whom had already lost mothers or Sisters to the disease. In 1994, researchers Are Likely to isolate a Gene responsible for Many of those inherited cancers offering new Hope of prevention. Years of painstaking research pioneered by Mary Claire King at the University of California Berkeley Hae shown that women who inherit the Gene have a 59 percent Chance of getting breast cancer before age 50 nearly 30 times the expected risk. Other important genes May also be identified As one of the nation s most ambitious science projects the human genome project moves steadily toward a Complete unravelling of the human genetic code. The rest of the country s big science projects Haven t fared As Well. The year will see the dismantling of the world s largest atom smasher the superconducting super Collider. Hubble the orbiting Cyclops whose great Eye was clouded by Perkun Elmer s defective Mirror will try out the world s most expensive prescription glasses in 1994. Engineers Hope the lenses installed by shuttle astronauts in december will Sharpen Hubble s gaze. Big science is not All of science however and some of the biggest discoveries of 1994 May come from the least Likely places. And it May be Many More years before we recognize the value of those discoveries. When Michael Faraday discovered electricity in 1820, it was known Only As lightning and it seemed useless. But Faraday had Faith. I Don t know what Good this will do he said. But someday you la tax it Paul Raeburn arts and entertainment the biggest Story in 1994 will be the continuing evolution of interactive multimedia entertainment. Video games now Gross More Money than movies but receive Little attention How will the generation weaned on Sega and Nintendo take to entertainment in 1994? so the entertainment Community will be paying very close attention in 1994 not Only to How entertainment is delivered but also to How it is being changed. Meanwhile some things remain pretty much the same. Everything old will be new again on Broadway in 1994, especially musicals. There will be revivals of Carousel and Damn Yankees before the end of the season also promised sometime during the year Are productions of show boat and crease. Old plays will be dusted off too. William Inge s 1953 drama picnic will be brought Back As will two British plays Harold Pinter s no Man s land starring Jason Robards and Christopher Plummer and . Priestley s detective thriller an inspector Calls. In film there will be the usual vat of sequels As Well As a few remakes and one or two movies Worth a ticket Price. There s a Sterling cast for House of the spirits based on the Isabel Allende Book. It stars Mervyl Streep Jeremy Irons and Glenn close. Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer Star in the Werewolf tale Wolf while Kenneth Branagh does his version of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein starring Robert de Niro As the creation. Susan Sarandon stars in yet another treatment of a John Grisham. Book this time the client while Neil Jordan directs pretty boy Tom cruise in interview with the Vampire and Warren Beatty does a remake of the tearjerker an affair to remember. He s calling it love affair the title of the original starring Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne. Meanwhile watch out for an endless Litany of sequels City slickers Beverly Hills cop Star trek major league police Academy and House party among them. The new year will see a few travelling Art shows that so far have attracted a lot of attention african Zion the sacred Art of Ethiopia a and Picasso and the weeping women Are among them. Other interesting exhibits include the age of the baroque in Portugal and a Willem de Kooning retrospective both at the National gallery in Washington. The Hubble Telescope should Start paying dividends. A the rolling stones will be Back on the Road in 94. In the music world expect stadium Tours by the rolling stones and Pink Floyd the stones also plan a new album and the introduction of the replacement for retired bassist Bill Wyman. Dolores Barclay religion thousands of americans buddhists in Long flowing White Robes a red metered Catholic Cardinal and islamic and jewish leaders Side by Side in business suits broke bread and prayed together at the parliament of the world s religions in Chicago last summer. Now comes the hard part taking the ideals of peace Justice and human dignity they agreed on at the Summit and applying them Back Home. The flowering of interfaith commitment comes at a time when the faithful Are increasingly jumping Over the pews into the political Arena and the Bonds of Church state separation ism interpreted in recent years to exclude religion from the Public realm appear to be loosening. This month the roman Catholic Church plans to launch a grass roots Campaign on health care to encourage its 59 million member flock to lobby legislators for a package that excludes abortion but provides care even to undocumented aliens. This summer the 8 million member National Baptist convention Usa inc., the nation s largest Black Church and one Long criticised As a sleeping giant of potential political activism is scheduled to elect Only its third president in 4.1 years a Milestone that May bring sweeping changes. And the Days when islam in America looked inward to serve immigrant believers May be Over. Muslim leaders say a demonstration last year in Washington to protest atrocities against muslims in  Yugoslavia is just the beginning of a More Active role in National affairs. David Briggs 20 the stars and stripes monday january 3, 1994 the stars and stripes