THE CAPITOL / BATTLING CAUCUSES : Congressional Cheerleaders Rally Around Their Causes

Illustrating how business is sometimes done in the corridors of federal power, the “Frost Belt caucus” in Congress has been calling for California and Texas to pay a bigger share of the cleanup costs for the savings and loan debacle.

Speaking through its informal organization, the Northeast-Midwest Coalition, caucus members have been backing an extra deposit insurance premium in states with a high proportion of insolvent state-chartered thrifts.

“The leading culprit in this Texas-sized problem is none other than the Lone Star State itself--a veritable bailout blackhole,” said Rep. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Me.), a Frost Belt advocate.

Reaction from the coalition’s traditional adversary, the “Sun Belt caucus,” was instant. Rep. Steve Bartlett (R-Tex.) growled: “This is merely Texas-bashing for home consumption.”

BACKGROUND: Informal groups, such as the Frost Belt and Sun Belt caucuses, work to influence legislation as it moves through the elaborate network of congressional committees and subcomittees.

The Northeast-Midwest coalition, a group of 36 senators and 100 House members from states stretching from Maine to Iowa, was formed in the 1970s when the energy crisis forced many firms to shift factories to low-cost locations in the South and Southwest.

Its latest move in the savings and loan scandal is typical of its efforts to get more federal dollars for the Frost Belt region or make other areas pay a greater share of government’s costs.

But there are many similar groups, promoting such special interests from protecting the lowly mushroom to promoting Pentagon reform. Some groups, however, do not take a position on legislation but exist to keep their members informed on issues or just provide a forum for political talk.

The Conservative Democratic Forum, known as the “boll weevils” because of its Southern and rural orientation, was formed by Rep. Charles W. Stenholm (D-Tex.) in the early 1980s. Stenholm, who is still the group’s coordinator, calls its 36 members together for breakfast at 9 a.m. every Thursday in the Speaker’s dining room for off-the-record discussions.

Some informal groups remain relatively quiet until a crisis galvanizes them into action to fight for an amendment or put pressure on the executive branch on behalf of their constituents.

The Congressional Mushroom Caucus, for example, is lying low at the moment. It was founded by Rep. Richard T. Schulze (R-Pa.), who represents a district where 26% of all U.S. mushrooms are grown. When an influx of mushrooms from China and Taiwan threatened the markets of growers in the ‘70s, Schulze quickly enlisted 60 lawmakers from 25 mushroom-growing states to defend the U.S product.

There is a caucus working on behalf of each of the following industries: aviation, alcohol fuel, coal, copper, footwear, insurance, soybeans, steel, textiles, tourism, trucking and wine. Issues such as human rights, anti-terrorism, fire services, adoption, crime, the arts, rural health, space and population also have their own congressional cheerleaders.

The Military Reform Caucus, now led by Sen. William V. Roth (R-Del.) and Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae), was formed in 1981 by former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.) to challenge conventional Pentagon thinking and promote an alternative, less costly defense program. Known as “cheap hawks,” the 140 members of the caucus have succeeded in passing a series of measures designed to improve Pentagon procurement and to make sure that weapons work as they were designed.

OUTLOOK: The seeds of major legislation may be planted in a casual caucus session and then later flower in one of the House or Senate committees with jurisdiction over the issue. The caucuses will remain influential because they provide a rare opportunity for informal contact between Democrats and Republicans who share the same interests and want to make an imprint on the legislative process despite their junior standing in the rigid congressional hierarchy.