States fear being stuck with higher costs. Republicans call structural changes inadequate. As for welfare, expect heated debate on Clinton's plan to restore food stamp aid and benefits to immigrants that were lost in last year's welfare reform. Diplomacy and defense. As executions increase, so do charges that the death penalty is meted out unfairly.
Critics say racial factors and poor lawyering can be as decisive as a murder's seriousness.
The inequities are so severe, American Bar Association leaders said last week, that executions should stop until reforms are enacted. But with President Clinton, the Supreme Court, and many federal and state lawmakers backing capital punishment, a quick turnaround seems unlikely. Investigators now are checking to see if the top enlisted soldier's deeds match his words. But the case comes on top of two separate investigations into the extent of sexual harassment throughout the Army. McKinney has resigned from a task force formed last November after accusations of rape and harassment surfaced at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.