CONGRESS WATCH : Fresh Start

Might the 103rd Congress mean a new beginning for the California delegation? Let’s hope so.

The 52-member delegation would do well to shed traditional partisan bickering and unify to protect California interests. Only then will the largest state delegation in U.S. history have clout commensurate with its size.

In a noteworthy attempt to mend fences, members of the delegation gathered over the weekend in San Diego, under the auspices of the California Institute, to get acquainted and be briefed on critical issues facing the state. Republicans and Democrats actually talked to each other, a refreshing change from the usual infighting that has divided the delegation.

The make-over of this delegation into a cohesive team may be helped by its 17 new members. They are a diverse group--women, minorities, including the first Korean-American elected to Congress, and a millionaire oilman, a former welfare mother and a college professor.

With California’s economy in the deep doldrums, a unified delegation is more important than ever. Members of Congress must safeguard California’s interests in federal programs for defense conversions, budgeting so that the state receives a fair share of federal funds and appropriate supporting legislation for urban enterprise zones.

In recent years disarray in the California delegation cost this state the $4.4-billion superconducting super collider, which went to Texas, and a $50-million earthquake research center that went to New York. That must not happen again.