Escerpt:
WASHINGTON — As the federal government rounded off its first quarter of deficit spending since 1997, Congress and the Bush administration are eyeing the $32 million in bonuses afforded federal civil service executives during the last year of the Clinton administration.
Bonuses averaging more than $11,000 per executive went to officials in agencies that didn't even meet performance standards, and they totaled nearly 25 percent more than the prior year. Fiscal year 2001 bonuses have not been computed yet.