Organizers of the Kennedy School of Government's orientation for newly-elected members of congress are going full speed ahead, despite speculation that Republicans will boycott the event as they did in 1994.

"We have been working closely during the last two years with a wide range of Republicans and Democrats to ensure that the program this year is both balanced and useful to the incoming Congressional class," Kennedy School spokesperson Steven R. Singer wrote in an e-mail yesterday.

The program, initiated in 1972, was canceled two years ago after newly-elected Republicans held their own seminar sponsored by the conservative Heritage Foundation in Baltimore.

Most of the 86 Republicans elected in 1994 attended the event, which featured a keynote address by talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh.

"The issue was that there was a new majority in Congress who wanted to do thing their own way, to establish their own identity," said the press secretary for Rep. Sonny Bono (R-Calif.). "Returning to Harvard at that particular time would have been contrary to that effort."

However, a spokesperson for House Speaker Newt Gingrich (RGa.) said, "Members are free to make their own decision whether to attend the Harvard program [this year] or not."

The press secretary for Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H) said Harvard's liberal reputation was one reason Republicans held a separate session two years ago.

"That reputation is out there, certainly," he said. "It is bandied about by members of the press and Congress."

Singer said organizers need to work harder to dispel erroneous partisan reputations.

"The Kennedy School and the Institute of Politics work quite hard to bring in a full range of people and views," Singer said.

He said the Kennedy School has numerous Republican faculty members, including Executive Dean Sheila Burke, the former chief of staff for Bob Dole, and IBM Professor of Business and Government Roger B. Porter, a domestic policy adviser under President George Bush.

Despite reports of Harvard's liberal bias, Bass's press secretary said Bass did not shun Harvard for that reason.

"Two years ago was a historic year with a huge Republican freshman class, and [the Heritage orientation] wasn't too far away from Washington, and many members were enthusiastic about it," he said. "It was a matter of scheduling and priority."

Rep. Steve Largent (R-Neb.) skipped the Harvard seminar because the Heritage Foundation invited him first, according to his press secretary.

Organizers said they were careful to avoid any similar scheduling conflicts this year.

The Institute of Politics, which sponsors the orientation program, "expects things to go smoothly this year, and expects representatives from both parties," said Rucker A. Alex '99, the conference committee chair