PLEADING WITH NEWT . . . SPARE THAT AX

A Clinton Administration official warned a Senate subcommittee today that the GOP plans to slash the budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development should be reconsidered, since the agency is committed to substantial long-term contracts that cannot easily be dropped. The panel was reviewing $800 million in cuts over five years proposed by Secretary Henry Cisneros. Many Republican Senators say the cuts aren't deep enough. TIME Washington correspondent Suneel Ratan notes that this is a story likely to be repeated several times in the next few weeks as the GOP faces the reality that few of its beloved cuts can take effect soon -- something that Veep Al Gore discovered as he set about reinventing government. "The GOP is looking to go into the 1996 election cycle with some quick results," says Ratan. "But that's going to be hard."