McKeon Tapped for Public Works Panel

Congressman-elect Howard P. (Buck) McKeon has secured a slot on the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, which he said he hopes to use to secure federal funds for highway and airport projects in the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys.

McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), who was elected in November to represent the new 25th District, was also given a position on the Labor and Education Committee. The appointments were made by the GOP Committee on Committees late Thursday and are expected to be ratified by the full House Republican Conference next month.

McKeon said in an interview earlier this week that his first choice was to be appointed to the Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles legislation concerning business, the environment, health care, energy and telecommunications. But he quickly learned that he would be unable to secure such a coveted slot as a freshman.

His second choice was the Public Works Committee. He said he would be able to use his expertise as Santa Clarita’s first mayor from 1987 to 1990 and best serve the sprawling district that encompasses the high desert of the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys and parts of the northern San Fernando Valley.

“We’re particularly pleased with Public Works and Transportation because that’s an area that looks like it’s really going to be funded in the Clinton Administration and our district particularly needs a lot of help in transportation and infrastructure,” said Armando Azarloza, McKeon’s district director.

Azarloza cited improvements to increase traffic flow on the Antelope Valley Freeway, which runs from Santa Clarita through the Antelope Valley to the Kern County line; California 138, which runs across the Antelope Valley, and Soledad Canyon Road, which is the major east-west arterial through Santa Clarita. He also pointed to expansion of the Palmdale Regional Airport.

“All these projects have been things that have been talked about for a number of years, but no one’s been in Washington to push them along,” said Azarloza, who managed McKeon’s election campaign.

McKeon, co-owner of 52 Western clothing stores, will be the first congressman to have the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys as the heart of his district. These areas, which grew rapidly in the 1980s, were previously split into five different lawmakers’ domains.

Azarloza speculated that McKeon was named to the Labor and Education Committee, a post he did not seek, because he served as a trustee of the William S. Hart Union High School District for eight years. McKeon’s other preferred committee assignments were Armed Services and Science, Space and Technology.

In another development, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) announced Friday that he had shelved his preliminary bid to become Budget Committee chairman. Beilenson had called colleagues while weighing a campaign to succeed Budget Chairman Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), who President-elect Bill Clinton tapped as his director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Colleagues said that Beilenson, an anti-deficit hawk, was handicapped by a relatively late start. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo (D-Minn.) reportedly had wrapped up many early commitments. Reps. John M. Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.) and Charles W. Stenholm (D-Tex.) are also seeking the post.

“Although he had a lot of positive responses from a number of members, Tony also found that a good number of them had already committed to another one of the candidates,” spokeswoman Kaye Davis said. “He’ll be urging the candidates to press for real deficit reduction.”

Beilenson, whose new 24th District extends from Sherman Oaks to Malibu and up to Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, will rank fourth on the committee in seniority after the new chairman is chosen.