Gore Speaks in Boston

BOSTON--The federal government must empower its employees and increase its efficiency, Vice President A1 Gore '69 told a packed Fanueil Hall crowd of more than 600 government employees and citizens yesterday.

After the forum, Gore headed to Cambridge for a Harvard Board of Overseers meeting, accompanied by a motorcade of about 30 motorcycles and assorted other vehicles.

His attendance at the meeting, confirmed by Officer-in-Charge Lawrence J. Murphy of the Harvard Police, was something of a surprise. President Neil L. Rudenstine said in an interview earlier this year that Gore had not been at any Board of Overseers since the start of the presidential campaign and would not attend any meetings for the rest of the year.

Throughout the Fanueil Hall forum, Gore likened the federal government to a business in need of reaming. He used the U.S. auto industry as an example of a large corporation which has successfully rebuilt itself and become less management-centered.

The event was one of a series of national appearances by Gore aimed at granting government workers the opportunity to air their grievances and make suggestions on how government can be "reinvented."

"Ten years ago, if we were here in Fanueil Hall and someone said, 'In 1993 the American auto industry will have reinvented itself ... most of us--me included--would have said, 'I don't think so,'" Gore said.

But the auto industry did manage to improve radically, Gore said, eliminating middle managers and empowering lower-level employees. Likewise, he said, the government can radically improve in coming years--despite lingering doubts.

"It can happen, it will happen... This is the time to come forward with new ideas and suggestions," Gore said.

Several federal and state employees did come forward yesterday when the Vice President asked audience members to share their stories of bureaucratic problems.

Gore asked for accounts relating the difficulty of terminating federal employees, the inflated costs of purchasing supplies through the government, the problems employees have encountered trying to get their ideas heard in Washington and other red-tape complications.

Gore said the Clinton administration is committed to alleviating these problems and making the government high-quality, high-performance and low-cost.

"In the White House ... we have a reinvention team very hard at work," he said.

Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-Mass.), who spoke before Gore, said he was pleased by the turnout.

"For a long time the working people of this country have thought government no longer works for them," he said. "We've got to change that.

Kennedy said in an interview after the event that he thought the forum was "excellent." He called many of the rules government employees must follow "crazy regulations."

But some people said they were skeptical about how much Gore's forums could do to improve government.

"I don't see where this is really accomplishing anything," said one participant, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said Gore came to the forum already knowing what the problems with the government were and left with no new knowledge.

The event was co-sponsored by the Boston Management Consortium, an organization that links the public and private sectors, and the National Performance Review, a task force headed by Gore that will give recommendations to the President on government reform in September

"Ten years ago, if we were here in Fanueil Hall and someone said, 'In 1993 the American auto industry will have reinvented itself ... most of us--me included--would have said, 'I don't think so,'" Gore said.

But the auto industry did manage to improve radically, Gore said, eliminating middle managers and empowering lower-level employees. Likewise, he said, the government can radically improve in coming years--despite lingering doubts.

"It can happen, it will happen... This is the time to come forward with new ideas and suggestions," Gore said.

Several federal and state employees did come forward yesterday when the Vice President asked audience members to share their stories of bureaucratic problems.

Gore asked for accounts relating the difficulty of terminating federal employees, the inflated costs of purchasing supplies through the government, the problems employees have encountered trying to get their ideas heard in Washington and other red-tape complications.

Gore said the Clinton administration is committed to alleviating these problems and making the government high-quality, high-performance and low-cost.

"In the White House ... we have a reinvention team very hard at work," he said.

Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-Mass.), who spoke before Gore, said he was pleased by the turnout.

"For a long time the working people of this country have thought government no longer works for them," he said. "We've got to change that.

Kennedy said in an interview after the event that he thought the forum was "excellent." He called many of the rules government employees must follow "crazy regulations."

But some people said they were skeptical about how much Gore's forums could do to improve government.

"I don't see where this is really accomplishing anything," said one participant, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said Gore came to the forum already knowing what the problems with the government were and left with no new knowledge.

The event was co-sponsored by the Boston Management Consortium, an organization that links the public and private sectors, and the National Performance Review, a task force headed by Gore that will give recommendations to the President on government reform in September