New Blacks in Congress Vow to Aid Clinton : Lawmakers: The 13 freshmen say that instead of pushing their own agenda they will cooperate with the White House to ‘break the gridlock.’

Rather than pursue their own agenda, newly elected black members of Congress said Tuesday that they expect to walk “hand in hand, arm in arm” with President-elect Bill Clinton and House Democratic leaders on key issues such as economic growth and health care.

Like other Democrats coming to Washington for the first time, their top priority is ending government gridlock and getting things done, they said.

As Rep. Carrie Meek, a 66-year-old grandmother from Florida, put it: “The people are crying out for help--for a square deal--so forget about dragging our feet and shuckin’ and jivin’.”

The new members expressed their views in a news conference after discussions with Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) and his top lieutenants, who conducted a series of meetings around the country with freshman Democrats to discuss goals and procedures for the 103rd Congress when it convenes in January.

Ranks of the Congressional Black Caucus will be expanded by more than 50% next year, rising from 25 in the old Congress to a record 38, not counting non-voting Washington, D.C., delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

In many states--such as Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia--the new black members will be the first of their race sent to Washington since the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War.

Even so, they said, they share the same basic concerns as others in the unusually large freshman class this year.

“I sensed a willingness to put aside our individual agendas and pull the country together and break the gridlock,” Melvin Watt, one of two blacks elected from North Carolina, said after the session.

As Bobby Rush, a new black member of Congress from Chicago, described his view of the coming session: “If we don’t deliver as a (Democratic) party, we’ll all go down as a party.”

And Robert Scott, the first black to be elected to the House from Virginia in a century, said: “The public is not interested in watching us squabble--they’re interested in getting things done.”

The Congressional Black Caucus, delighted with the influx of African-Americans, is also meeting in Atlanta this week to discuss congressional procedures and legislative issues.

The caucus is not expected to stake out positions at odds with the Clinton Administration. Many of its new members from the South would likely have rejected some of the ultra-liberal positions associated with the caucus in the past, when it was dominated by liberal, big-city Democrats.

Sanford Bishop, one of two newly elected blacks from Georgia, told reporters: “It’s clear we’re about to put the country on a fiscally sound basis once again,” a step that he called essential before social services can be expanded.

Cynthia McKinney, the other black newcomer from Georgia, said the additional minority representation in the new Congress amounts to a “revolution within the process” that will make the House better reflect the population.

“We are going to march hand in hand, arm in arm, with Gov. Clinton and the Democratic leadership,” she said. “A stronger Black Caucus will mean a stronger Democratic caucus, and that’s a good thing.”

Earl Hilliard, the first black to go to the House from Alabama in 118 years, said his election already has shown benefits. As a member of the state Legislature, he said, he tried without success to get state highway commission approval for a $20-million highway project in his district. When he won a Democratic primary that was tantamount to victory, Hilliard said, state officials suddenly released the funds.

The additional number of blacks in Congress may help some achieve coveted seats on the Appropriations, Ways and Means or Energy and Commerce committees, Democratic leaders said.

In another move that would be welcomed by the Black Caucus, Democrats are considering a rules change that would allow the District of Columbia delegate to cast a vote during key debates on amendments to legislation but not on final passage of bills in the House.