Wright Probe Is Gridlocking House, Michel Complains

Breaking a long silence, House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) charged Wednesday that the ethics investigation of Speaker Jim Wright has left the House in a “state of suspended animation,” without strong leadership.

Shortly before Democrats again failed to overcome Republican objections to an emergency funding bill, Michel said that the House is “moving at a snail’s pace” and failing to make progress on major legislation because Wright has been so preoccupied with his mounting legal and ethics problems.

Michel recalled that when Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) was the Speaker and a “gridlock” developed, “The Speaker would just say: ‘It’s going to move.’ And, when the Speaker has that power and authority . . . it will move.” But now, “that power or influence has been eroded by what we’ve been witness to within the last several months,” the GOP leader said.

Democrats brushed aside the attack, saying that the House has approved important legislation this year and is functioning smoothly. Wright is “fully involved” in House business,” said House Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.), adding that “there’s no gridlock here.”

Hours later, however, Democratic leaders failed for the second time in less than a month to pass the emergency appropriations bill, which would provide funds for veterans’ hospitals, firefighting agencies and other programs. Veterans Administration officials have said that they will run out of federal funds for their hospitals unless Congress acts before June 1.

House leaders had hoped to pass the $2.9-billion measure by Wednesday, because the Senate, which has yet to act on the matter, will recess Friday until May 31. However, Republicans criticized the inclusion of $821 million for anti-drug law enforcement programs in the bill, saying that those funds should be in next year’s budget.

Democrats needed unanimous consent to pass the measure on an emergency basis, but Republicans objected and thus killed the proposal.

Minutes after the defeat, Democrats and Republicans huddled on the House floor, trying unsuccessfully to come up with a last-minute compromise. The crowd of negotiators included Foley, Michel and other leaders from both sides of the aisle. But Wright (D-Tex.), who has remained aloof from House business in recent weeks, was not among them.

When the meeting broke up, Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) said that Democrats next week would offer an amendment to a new version of the emergency bill that would free up money for anti-drug programs by freezing funding for the “Star Wars” missile defense program next year at $3.7 billion. The $900 million in savings could be used for anti-drug programs, he said.

“We’re not going to let this thing keep languishing,” Miller said.

Last month, in what was widely viewed as a setback for Wright and other Democratic leaders, the House defeated an earlier version of the emergency funding measure. A key reason was that Democrats could not agree on a plan to provide more aid to the homeless and reparations to Japanese-Americans interned during World War II while making offsetting cuts in other programs.

After Wednesday’s vote, Rep. William H. Gray III (D-Pa.) speculated that his colleagues were not properly “focused on legislation” amid the deepening inquiry into Wright’s ethics.

After nearly four weeks, Democrats on Wednesday introduced a scaled-down version of the emergency bill. The new legislation retains funds for veterans, but money for the homeless, Japanese-American reparations and other programs was deleted.

When asked if the Speaker’s troubles had contributed to the House deadlock, Michel said: “It can’t be discounted, surely.” In a pointed comment on Wright’s loss of influence, he added: “It does take a strong hand when you’ve got the division of views on the Democratic side.”