‘92 NATIONAL ELECTIONS : Congress Due for a Run on Fast Track in January

Buoyed by the election of a Democratic President for the first time in 12 years, leaders of the Democratic-controlled Congress geared up Wednesday for action in the first 100 days of the new Administration on major legislation blocked in the past by George Bush’s vetoes.

Both House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) and Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) pledged full cooperation with President-elect Bill Clinton as he prepares to take over the White House.

“I expect he (Clinton) will hit the ground running with an aggressive program,” Mitchell said in a television interview. “We in the Congress expect to work with him to achieve it.”

Foley said, “You will see early cooperation, early action” when the lawmakers convene next January.

Republicans, who had hoped to post major gains in the elections, resigned themselves to a “loyal opposition” role as Clinton unveils his legislative program.

“If the Democrats hold their people together, they’ll be able to pass a lot of things we’ve been able to block for 12 years,” said Rep. Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.), a chief deputy whip for the House minority.

Quick passage of an economic growth package, family-leave legislation and changes in campaign finance laws are expected shortly after the new Congress convenes next January. Bush vetoed bills dealing with all three issues last year and Congress was unable to override.

Other measures--including a long-promised health care bill--also seem likely to emerge from Capitol Hill in the first year of Clinton’s presidency.

While some GOP conservatives called for “guerrilla warfare” against the Democratic regime, others said that they did not want confrontation.

“Frankly, if Clinton and the new Congress can move the country forward, I’ll be right with them,” said Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside).

“Rather than throw roadblocks in the path of Gov. Clinton and continue gridlock, all of us have a collective interest in seeing that the institution does work,” said influential Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.).

But another Californian, Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) who is chairman of the House Budget Committee, said that Clinton will have to work fast to get the job done.

“The major challenge now for this (new) President and the leadership of Congress is to make sure they have a program put together in the first 100 days that these members can support--that’s the key,” Panetta said. “The President is not going to have a long honeymoon period here.”

While Democrats apparently lost nine seats in the House and held about even in the Senate, they will retain substantial majorities in both chambers in the 103rd Congress. Even the infusion of 111 new members in the House--the biggest turnover since 1948--is not expected to affect the new Administration’s fast-track agenda.

Foley and other party leaders scheduled a series of meetings next week in Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta for the expected 61 new House Democrats to get a faster start on legislative work next year.

“The public is expecting us to perform,” said one senior Democratic aide. “And we don’t have to worry about getting veto-proof (two-thirds) majorities any more.”

Unlike Jimmy Carter, another Southern governor who defeated a Republican President, Clinton is expected to be a chief executive who will try to work harmoniously with the legislative branch.

Bill Galston, a University of Maryland political scientist, said that new members of the House also will have an incentive to break the “gridlock” that plagued the 102nd Congress and get something done in a hurry.

“Clinton believes in leadership by persuasion,” Galston said. “If it means meeting at midnight with the leaders of Congress, he will.”

But Bill Frenzel, a former Republican member of the House from Minnesota, said that he believes special interest groups will persuade Congress to fight for spending programs that may not be on Clinton’s agenda.

“The new Congress is going to be very much like the old one,” Frenzel said. “Even though they will be nice to him at first, they are going to have quite different priorities than he does--in particular, fiscal priorities.”

Clinton will have to deal with the barons of the House, such as Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), the crusty chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Ways and Means has become a focal point for virtually all major legislation because of the pay-as-you-go provisions of the Budget Enforcement Act.

“Clinton will get the same honeymoon everyone else does, but where the marriage is going to be tested is in Ways and Means,” predicted Paul Light, a University of Minnesota political scientist.

Other analysts said, however, that the historic gains by Democratic women, blacks and Latinos in House races will make the party’s caucus more unified on national issues and less influenced by conservatives from the South.

“The Democrats are going to be fairly cohesive in terms of their (legislative) program,” said David Bositis, senior research associate with the Joint Center on Political and Economic Studies. “I don’t see that much difference between the Democratic Leadership Council on the right and the Congressional Black Caucus on the left.”

Despite the influx of new members, the partisan lineup in the House appears likely to stay pretty much the same. Democrats, who enjoyed a 268-166 advantage in the old Congress, probably will have a reduced majority of 259-175 in the next session after a few close races are decided.

While 24 incumbents were defeated on Tuesday, a total of 324 House members were reelected for a winning percentage of 88%. Even so, that was the worst incumbent survival record in almost 20 years and compared to a 96% rate only two years ago.

This was “the year of diversity” for Congress. In addition to the four new women elected to the Senate, tripling the number of elected women from two to six, other minorities also achieved record gains.

There will be 37 black members of the House--all Democrats except Rep. Gary Franks (R-Conn.), for a gain of 12 over last year. The number of Latinos will jump by six, to 17, while there will be 47 women in the House next year--an increase of 19.

Asian-Americans made a net gain of two, with California voters electing Republican Jay Kim a native Korean from Diamond Bar, and Democrat Mark Takano, a Japanese-American from Riverside.

In the Senate, Democrats retained a 58-42 advantage and appeared likely to pick up another seat in a special North Dakota election on Dec. 4 in which Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) is an overwhelming favorite to fill a vacancy created by the death of Sen. Quentin Burdick. Conrad, who had decided not to seek reelection this year after serving in the 102nd Congress, was persuaded to run for the Burdick seat in the special election. His old seat will be filled by Democrat Byron Dorgan, who defeated Republican Steve Sydness on Tuesday.

In Georgia, Sen. Wyche Fowler (D-Ga.) was forced into a Nov. 24 runoff against Republican challenger Paul Coverdell when he failed to get 50% of the vote.

If Fowler wins, Democrats probably would increase their margin to 58 to 42 in the new Congress. If he loses, however, the ratio would remain the same, 57 to 43.

In the dozen gubernatorial contests Tuesday, Democrats scored a net gain of two, claiming statehouses in Delaware, Missouri and North Carolina while losing one to a Republican in Nevada. Democrats now hold 31 governorships and Republicans 17. The chief executives in two states--Alaska and Connecticut--are independents.

Female candidates fared poorly in this year’s governor races. All three of the women running for governor--a Democrat in Montana, a Democrat in New Hampshire and a Republican in Rhode Island--lost.

Times staff writer Paul Houston contributed to this story.

How Female Candidates Fared

There were 120 women involved in races for Senate, House and governorships. Here is how they did in Tuesday’s contests. List of Senate candidates does not include third party entries: SENATE

State Candidate Won Lost Arizona Claire Sargent (D) X California Barbara Boxer (D) X California Dianne Feinstein (D) X Illinois Carol Moseley Braun (D) X Iowa Jean Lloyd Jones (D) X Kansas Gloria O’Dell (D) X Maryland Barbara Mikulski (D) X Missouri Geri Rothman-Serot (D) X Pa. Lynn Yeakel (D) X S. Dakota Charlene Haar (R) X Wash. Patty Murray (D) X Total 5 6

GOVERNORSHIPS

State Candidate Won Lost Montana Dorothy Bradley (D) X N.H. Deborah Ameson (D) X R.I. Elizabeth Anne Leonard (R) X Total 0 3

HOUSE

Female Female State candidates winners Alabama 1 0 Arizona 1 1 Arkansas 1 1 California 19 7 Colorado 1 1 Conn. 3 3 Florida 10 5 Georgia 3 1 Hawaii 1 1 Idaho 1 0 Illinois 3 1 Indiana 3 1 Iowa 1 0 Kansas 1 1 Kentucky 1 0 Maine 2 1 Maryland 3 2 Michigan 4 1 Miss. 1 0 Missouri 2 1 Nevada 1 1 N.J. 2 1 New York 9 5 N.C. 4 1 Ohio 5 2 Oklahoma 1 0 Oregon 1 1 Pa. 1 1 S.C. 1 0 Tenn. 2 1 Texas 5 1 Utah 2 1 Virginia 1 1 Wash. 4 3 Wisconsin 5 0 Total 106 47