Release of Overdraft List Heightens Sense of Political Peril in the Halls of Congress : Ethics: Many lawmakers fear a voter backlash in November. Others have already decided to retire.

Thursday’s release of the complete list of 303 current and former members of Congress who wrote more than 24,000 overdrafts at the now-defunct House bank has heightened the sense of political peril that now pervades the halls of Congress.

The 252 incumbents on the roster--along with 17 others on an earlier list of the worst abusers--fear that they may face a voter backlash over the issue in November, despite efforts by the Ethics panel and Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) to control the damage.

Many on the list already have decided to retire.

Rep. Matthew F. McHugh (D-N.Y.), who headed the Ethics Committee investigation and himself had one overdraft, released the list with what amounted to a plea for mercy in the court of public opinion.

“The individuals on today’s list did not abuse their banking privileges,” McHugh said in a preamble to the list. “All checks were covered and no public funds were used or lost.”

Foley, who had two overdrafts, also tried to minimize the political fallout by declaring that no laws were broken and no tax funds were lost in the debacle.

But other members acknowledged voters’ anger over the House bank’s practice of granting unlimited free overdrafts. Said Rep. Dennis M. Hertel (D-Mich.), fourth on the list with 547 overdrafts: “It wasn’t a bank. It was a mess.”

And Republicans signaled that they would try to capitalize on the disclosures at the polls.

On April 1, the ethics panel branded 17 current and five former members as “abusers” of the bank for repeatedly overdrawing their accounts by an amount exceeding their next month’s take-home pay, which averaged $7,000 a member.

The House, however, decided to disclose the names of all of its members who wrote even a single bad check, despite warnings that the bank’s slipshod record-keeping and failure to give notice of overdrafts on a consistent basis might result in inaccuracies and unfairness.

The controversy over the bank has touched off a political explosion in the Capitol, at times reflected by nasty partisan name-calling that has distracted the House from its legislative business while members scurried to save their seats.

Some members said that legislation is at a standstill and that public confidence in the institution has been eroded by the uproar over the overdrafts.

The most severe political repercussions may be felt by the 31 lawmakers now in office who wrote 100 or more bad checks during a 39-month period ending last Oct. 3, including such key Democrats as Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), who had 434 overdrafts totaling more than $100,000.

In addition, a special counsel has been named by the Justice Department to investigate the bank to determine if any criminal laws were violated in its operations, which have provided the free overdraft protection for the last half a century.

Conspicuous among those named Thursday was the chairman of the House ethics panel, Rep. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio), with 551 overdrafts. The list also included former Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.), who had 138 overdrafts.

But the tally also showed that 170 other lawmakers had a clean record--no overdrafts--and 162 others on the list had 10 or fewer tainted checks.

No figures were released on the amount of overdrafts or the face value of the checks, but House officials said that no tax funds were involved and that the checks were all made good.

Members generally emphasized that they had broken no laws or House rules but had merely engaged in a practice dating back at least 40 years. Some representatives attributed their overdrafts, at least in part, to shoddy practices and slipshod record-keeping. And many expressed regret.

Among the incumbents on the list there were 170 Democrats, 83 Republicans and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont.

House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who faces a primary election challenge, acknowledged 22 overdrafts with a face value of $26,890, saying: “I regret the errors with my checking account and apologize for them. But one thing I do not apologize for is leading the fight for disclosure of all the names.”

Neither House Republican leader Robert H. Michel of Illinois nor Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), who is his party’s third-ranking member, had any overdrafts. In addition to Speaker Foley’s two overdrafts worth $1,017, House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) had 28 overdrafts, and House Majority Whip David E. Bonior (D-Mich.) had 76.

The list also included four of President Bush’s Cabinet officers who were once House members--Defense Secretary Dick Cheney (25 overdrafts); Agriculture Secretary Edward R. Madigan (49), Labor Secretary Lynn Martin (16) and Housing Secretary Jack Kemp (one).

Five Republican senators also were on the list for checks written while they served in the House. They were James M. Jeffords of Vermont, one; Robert C. Smith of New Hampshire, five; Dan Coats of Indiana, three; Hank Brown of Colorado, 18, and Larry E. Craig of Idaho, nine.

One other Republican surprise on the list was Rep. Bob McEwen of Ohio, one of the most conservative members of the House, who had 166 overdrafts. Publication of the list, however, appeared likely to do more damage to Democrats in view of their greater numbers, especially among lawmakers with 100 or more overdrafts.

For example, Rep. Michael A. Andrews (D-Tex.), regarded as an up-and-coming member of his party, was listed with 121 overdrafts with a face value of $103,046. Another newcomer considered promising, Rep. Chester G. Atkins (D-Mass.), had 127 overdrafts. There was no estimate of the value of his checks.

Veteran Rep. Eligio (Kika) de la Garza (D-Tex.), chairman of the Agriculture Committee, had 284 overdrafts totaling $43,390, while Rep. Thomas J. Downey (D-N.Y.), a key member of the House Ways and Means Committee, was listed with 151 overdrafts.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), one of three chief deputy whips, had 125 overdrafts, while Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae), a candidate for a U.S. Senate nomination in California, had 143.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-San Diego), was listed with 399 overdrafts--compared to the 407 he had acknowledged earlier--with a total value of $129,255. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt (R-Ark.), known as a close friend of President Bush, had 224 overdrafts. Rep. Jim Ross Lightfoot (R-Iowa) was listed with 105 problem checks.

The first list of bank “abusers” included 14 Democrats and three Republicans now in the House as well as five former members. One Democrat among them--Rep. Charles A. Hayes (D-Ill.)--was defeated in a primary election on March 17, three days after the list became known through a news leak.

Several others on that list have decided to retire rather than seek reelection, and tough races have been predicted for several of those who have decided to run for another term.