Political observers are warning that Congressional attempts to transfer authority from Washington to the states may not survive the efforts of federal bureaucrats -- and even the President -- to maintain jurisdiction.

They point to President Clinton's announced plans, if reelected, to "fix" the new welfare law, which transferred much decision-making responsibility to the states.

Another case involves how the Federal Communications Commission has already virtually rewritten the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

• The new law removed barriers to competition in the telecommunications industry and devolved responsibility for remaining regulation to the states.

• The law promotes competition in local telephone markets, expressly giving state commissions authority to decide -- via a strictly localized, case-specific process -- what constitutes "just and reasonable" rates.

• It affords the FCC no role whatsoever in setting local exchange prices.

The law's language was so explicit that the National Council of Governors advisors prepared a report briefing governors on the upcoming Free Market "telewars."

But within six months of the law's enactment, the FCC produced 600 pages of regulations which critics say set up national pricing standards in local telephone markets. Moreover, the proposed regulations completely ignore the actual costs that local companies incurred to create their systems.

In response to a suit challenging the FCC, filed by GTE Corp. and Southern New England Telephone co., a federal appeals court ordered a temporary stay of the FCC regulations and will hear oral arguments in the case tomorrow.

Legal observers say the FCC bureaucrats' action should warn us that devolution and deregulation of federal authority are always in the administrative details.

Source: John J. DiIulio (Princeton), "How Bureaucrats Rewite Laws," Wall Street Journal, October 2, 1996.