The President can do better — each of the Green Scissors recommendations are consistent with the President’s own goals of deficit reduction, reinventing government, and protecting the environment. The report card called upon President Clinton to direct Vice President Al Gore to conduct an in-house review of the Administration’s performance on Green Scissors issues and to recommend improvements.

The Administration’s few high marks on federal lands policies and water projects were pulled way down by too many failing grades on energy, agriculture and international programs. Although the Administration is currently on academic probation, it can redeem itself with a strong performance during the coming months. The report card contains an “Honor Roll” for the Administration’s most laudable achievements, as well as a “Detention Hall” for the failures. Items on the Honor Roll include the President’s veto threat that stopped sham mining reforms, refusal by the Interior Department to allow a land transfer for the destructive Oregon Inlet project, and the National Park Service decision blocking the Stillwater bridge between Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Among the 16 “F”s landing Clinton in Detention Hall: Continued funding for Plutonium Pyroprocessing whose predecessors were twice killed by Congress, supporting a PR program to promote “low-level” radioactive dumps, and solicitation of special funds for the Corridor H Highway in West Virginia.