House GOP Charts California Agenda : Congress: Gingrich says focus will be on illegal immigration, military procurement. White House defends record in state, which could hold key in ’96 election.

Newly empowered House Republicans, mindful of the Golden State’s pivotal influence on national politics and the economy, intend to pursue a California agenda stressing immigration reform and increased defense spending, according to incoming Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.

Gingrich said he began discussing his priorities with Gov. Pete Wilson several days before Tuesday’s election, which imposed stiff new restrictions on access to health care and education for illegal immigrants in California, sent scores of GOP newcomers to statehouses across the nation and put Republicans in charge of the U.S. House and Senate for the first time in 40 years.

“I think on the whole issue of immigration, California’s going to be very positive about what we’ll be doing,” Gingrich said in an interview with The Times upon his return to Washington this weekend. “And frankly, on defense procurement, it’s going to be a significant boost to the California economy by the time we’re done.”

To some extent, the California plan represents a rhetorical repackaging of proposals contained in the “contract with America” signed by many GOP congressional candidates. But the Speaker-in-waiting’s endorsement of tough federal measures to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into California--and to quickly deport some of those already in the state--appears to go beyond the terms of the party’s national battle plan.

Gingrich’s comments mark the opening salvo in what is certain to be a two-year battle between Republicans and Democrats to win the hearts and minds of Californians. As the nation’s most populous state, California wields the greatest number of Electoral College votes in presidential elections. Its support will be critical to the political fate of President Clinton in 1996.

Informed of Gingrich’s remarks, the White House fired back Saturday with warnings that Republicans should not assume the state is theirs for the taking.

“We’re certainly not conceding anything on California,” said Tom Epstein, the White House’s point man on California issues. “We certainly think we’ve done a good job for California and will continue to do so.”

Democrats clearly recognize the importance of the state in their strategy for holding the White House. Since taking office last year, Clinton has made 15 trips to California. Another visit is scheduled for December.

In public remarks Saturday, Gingrich continued to strike a combative tone toward the Clinton White House, which is trying to downplay the significance of last week’s Republican sweep. Rather than interpreting the GOP victories as a rejection of Clinton or congressional Democrats, the White House says the election demonstrated widespread restlessness among voters who do not believe that the changes promised by the President are coming fast enough.

In speeches and interviews, Gingrich has maintained that the election results represented an overwhelming electoral repudiation of the economic policies and social programs pursued by Clinton and his congressional allies.

“We owe (President Clinton) no fealty on public policy domestically. We owe him no automatic obedience on any domestic policy question,” Gingrich said on CNN’s “Evans and Novak” program. “But I told the President before he went to Asia that he has our prayers, and he has our support as the President of the United States while he’s overseas.”

Elaborating on the aggressive legislative agenda the Republicans want to pursue next year, Gingrich said he would favor a vote to repeal this year’s congressional ban on the sale of certain assault weapons. As part of a GOP effort to reduce the number of congressional committees and staff members, he said he will seek to eliminate the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee and the panel that deals with the District of Columbia.

At the same time, Gingrich called a proposal by fellow Republican Rep. Bill Archer of Texas to consider eliminating the federal income tax “a little bold,” indicating it is unlikely to become part of the GOP’s official action plan anytime soon.

On issues critical to California, Gingrich said in his interview with The Times that he wants the House to pass tough new measures to stanch the flow of illegal immigrants--mainly from the south--and to step up military procurement of new weapons. California’s border with Mexico is the primary crossing point for illegal immigrants, and the collapse of the state’s aerospace industry has been a direct consequence of declining defense spending.

“I think sometimes people back East tend to forget how vital California is to our economic future and how much it is our launching pad into the Pacific Rim,” Gingrich said. Asked whether his legislative strategy is motivated in part by California’s political importance, he responded: “It’s our largest state.”

On immigration, Gingrich advocated bold changes almost certain to create the same kind of political furor nationally as Proposition 187 sparked in California.

“I favor saying flatly that illegal immigration is a federal problem and that it requires a federal solution,” Gingrich said. “We have to be responsible for being able to police our borders.”

The incoming Speaker said he would seek House passage of measures to substantially close borders to illegal immigrants and empower law enforcement officials to deport violators without delay.

“If you know they’re illegal, why are you arguing over whether or not to give them money? Why are they still here? If they’re illegal, why aren’t they gone?” Gingrich said. “Whatever law we have to pass to be able to protect American sovereignty and to be able to say we’re not going to have illegal people in the United States, we should pass.”

Gingrich called for increasing the U.S. Border Patrol to roughly 10,000 officers, up from 4,000.

“Let’s have as many border patrolmen as are needed so that the border is totally secure,” Gingrich said. “And second, let’s say if we discover that you’re illegal, we need a system of being able to deport you that is very efficient and very fast and that works.”

While Gingrich and Wilson appear to have a common goal of cracking down on illegal immigration, they could part company on the details. Throughout the campaign that ended in his reelection, Wilson said passage of Proposition 187 was the only way to make federal officials reimburse California for the cost of providing services to illegal immigrants. On several occasions, he said the ballot measure would pressure Washington to compensate the state for more than $3 billion worth of services now financed by California taxpayers.

Gingrich, however, suggested that Washington will do nothing of the sort. Instead, he stressed the need to deport illegal immigrants already living in California and prevent the entry of any new ones.

The defense spending component of the GOP’s California agenda is likely to be warmly received by Wilson and other state leaders. Seven years of declining defense budgets have devastated California’s once-vibrant aerospace industry, and tens of thousands of jobs have been lost.

Gingrich’s promise to pump up weapon procurement comes at a time when the Clinton Administration has focused on weaning California off defense spending by providing funds to help convert military industries to peacetime purposes and smooth the transition of laid-off workers. The Administration has earmarked as much as $600 million a year for the effort nationally, with California getting roughly a third of the money.

House Republicans have talked about adding as much as $20 billion to the Pentagon’s budget during the next five years. Rep. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.), the likely chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has vowed “to reverse the past two years of neglect of our nation’s military.”

On Saturday, Gingrich said the GOP “certainly” seeks to increase funding for anti-missile defenses. But he stopped short of endorsing the $20-billion boost advocated by some Republicans, noting that any increase must be acceptable to a Senate that traditionally has been more deficit-conscious than the House.

Money for stepped-up weapon purchases could be obtained by reducing the participation of U.S. troops in international humanitarian and peacekeeping missions and by adopting reforms that would require the Pentagon to simplify its purchase requirements, Gingrich said.

“I’m prepared to find some limited amount of money, but I don’t see it as a massive increase in defense spending. I’m also prepared to shrink the Pentagon bureaucracy in favor of troops and weapons.”