Congressional Republicans Find Gains Come at a Cost : Capitol Hill: Committee chairmanships held by Californians drop from five to one, weakening clout. Some GOP leaders say the state will be better served nonetheless.

As the smoke clears from the Nov. 8 electoral cataclysm on Capitol Hill, victorious California Republican members of Congress are looking forward to a new era of majority party clout for the country’s largest congressional delegation.

From a spate of subcommittee chairmanships to two key roles in Speaker-to-be Newt Gingrich’s inner circle, California Republicans hope to forge a more effective relationship between the country’s most populous state and the federal government.

But amid their celebration, they have also had to accept the cold, hard facts that the abrupt deposing of the state’s venerable Democratic House chieftains--and a cadre of junior lieutenants--has caused the 54-member congressional delegation to lose power and influence.

The Democrats hold a 27-25 seat edge in the state delegation to the House, after losing three seats in the November election. But Republicans nationwide gained overall control 230-204 (with one Independent).

The GOP takeover dismantles an extensive Democratic empire that included five committee chairmen and more than a dozen subcommittee chairmanships. Now the California delegation has only one chairmanship--of the internally focused House Oversight Committee.

The reelection of Dianne Feinstein reunites her with Barbara Boxer and keeps two California Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Both have influence with the White House, but presumably will have less influence in the now Republican majority Senate. Feinstein, the most junior Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, almost certainly will lose her coveted position as the number of minority seats on the panel is trimmed.

The sheer size of the California delegation--nearly 12% of the House--ensures that it will remain a potent voice in Congress. But the eviction of so many key Democrats, after so many years, is eye-opening to some veteran Congress-watchers.

“No question, there’s a loss of power,” said Norman J. Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. “The California delegation has some of the most significant chairmen . . . and strategists in Congress. They are major figures and had a core of junior (Democratic members) who had great potential.

“When you looked at the list of (the delegation’s) Republicans, there was no comparison. Unlike some other states, (California) doesn’t go down the toilet because of the change in party dominance, but, let’s face it, it’s a loss of clout.”

While multiple committee chairmanships are no absolute guarantee of clout, the net loss of four is notable.

“No matter how you cut it, when we lose top-level authority in policy-making like this, we take a step backward,” said Rep. Jerry Lewis of Redlands, a Republican reelected to his eighth term in November. “Our chairmanships have shrunk and that impacts our clout.”

In other ways, the shift in majority party has caused less dramatic changes.

The House subcommittee structure is still being organized, but Republicans will be in line for about the same number (13) of subcommittee chairmanships as the Democrats had.

Likewise, in the important party hierarchies, Democrats and Republicans kept one party leadership post each.

Based on those developments, other Republicans offer a more optimistic forecast.

“The sense that losing five committee chairmen is going to hurt California is a real stretch,” said Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), a diligent party insider who’s become a top Gingrich confidant. “People have judged (delegation) success in the past on bringing programs and grants back to the state. We’ll certainly continue to help bring grants and contracts to California. But I don’t think Californians are solely concerned about the amount of pork and bacon that’s brought home.”

Dreier said that Republicans will focus on eliminating unfunded federal mandates--laws that cost the states millions of dollars to implement--and giving states more discretion over how they spend federal money. The reorganization of the House committee structure--orchestrated primarily by Dreier--will help by “improving the deliberative process and increasing (congressional) accountability,” Dreier said.

“The bottom line,” Dreier said, “is that the clout of the delegation is enhanced, not diluted.”

California Republicans cannot match their Democratic colleagues chairman for chairman, but they can point to important leverage with Gingrich, who scholars predict will become one of the most powerful House speakers.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) was recently elected chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the fifth rung on the House GOP leadership ladder, giving him an ex-officio seat on the party’s new Steering Committee. That new panel, headed by Gingrich, doles out committee assignments and will meet frequently to map out the party’s legislative agenda and floor schedule, giving Cox an opportunity to promote California issues.

The Steering Committee replaces the old Committee on Committees, which essentially gave states a vote in proportion to their size. But here too, California clout seems diminished.

The new committee structure vests more power in Gingrich and other top party leaders, but takes it away from big states like California, which had 22 votes under the old plan. Now the state votes are spread among nine regions (California being one unto itself).

Dreier was named the California representative, giving the state two votes out of 31 total.

(Under the complicated system, Georgia and Texas are the big winners in voting strength.)

“Having two seats on the Steering Committee is very important,” said Cox. “And Dreier and I have good relations with the Speaker.”

The only California committee chairman will be Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield) of House Oversight, an internal panel that does not control any of the big programs important to the state’s economy.

Also, Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), who was in line for two full committee chairmanships (Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary) was passed over for both in favor of younger, aggressive members more in sync with Gingrich. (In an effort to soften the blow, Moorhead was granted a waiver, allowing him to retain his seats on both “exclusive” committees; he also chairs a Judiciary subcommittee.)

The rebuff to Moorhead was not totally unexpected, but it spurred delegation members to complain to Gingrich that their clout was ebbing. He quickly responded by forming a California Task Force composed of Dreier, Cox and Lewis to advise the leadership on key issues. The group will also focus on maintaining close ties with Gov. Pete Wilson.

Dreier, who got high marks for his work on committee restructuring, also won praise for success in placing his GOP colleagues--freshmen and veterans--on the more powerful House committees.

“If one simply counts noses, California is in very good shape,” said Cox. “We’re well-represented in the leadership, on the steering committee . . . on the committees themselves.”

Democratic members and staffers have a less rosy view.

“Obviously, it depends on which agenda you think is better for California. If you agree with the Democrats’ and the President’s agenda, this is a negative change,” said Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City), one of the party’s top strategists--and a soon-to-be former subcommittee chairman himself.

Berman and other Democrats mourn the defrocking of the five California committee chairmen (Reps. Ron Dellums, Armed Services; George Miller, Natural Resources; Norman Y. Mineta, Public Works and Transportation; George E. Brown Jr., Science, Space and Technology; and Pete Stark, District of Columbia, abolished by the new Republican majority) along with a host of influential subcommittee chairmen, notably Henry Waxman of Los Angeles, who as head of the Energy and Commerce health and environment subcommittee humbled tobacco industry CEOs and enacted sweeping clean-air legislation.

“We lose some good people, but the news is not all bad. We get Carlos (Moorhead) as chairman of the courts and intellectual property subcommittee,” said Berman. The panel oversees issues relating to high-tech industries and the entertainment industry, and Moorhead is expected to be sympathetic to both.

But the more-conservative Republican philosophy now in full throat on Capitol Hill has Berman worried.

A number of private/public partnerships, formed to help defense industries make the transition to commercial applications, may be at risk, Berman said.

“You could run into some intellectual purist on the right side who doesn’t recognize that the government should assist these industries. That could cause concern,” he said.

Berman also said that Republican control of Congress could possibly affect appropriations for some ongoing California projects.

“Things like Metro Rail funding might be affected,” said Berman. “But most of these potential problems will be marginal and incremental and not diminish the fundamental quality of life in California.”

As for the Republicans’ projected savings for California as the result of a leaner federal government, Berman said that “the budget people in Sacramento may see a net gain” but feared that such cutbacks might lead to a diluting of safety standards and consumer-protection laws.

Not to worry, say the conquering Republicans.

“We are going to bring in a new way of doing business,” said Dreier. “We will do everything we can to bring about tax reduction and reduce the size of the federal government. The solution is not, for instance, bringing back defense spending as it was in 1985, but to find other solutions.”

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Taking Control

In Washington, clout is an amalgam of seniority, cronyism, luck and force of personality, but it boils down to raw political superiority. With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress, members and outside observers are busy handicapping how the changes wrought in November will affect California, whose 54-member delegation is the largest in the country’s history.

LEADERSHIP POSTS

* Democrats Now: Rep. Vic Fazio of West Sacramento is vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

* Republicans Now: Rep. Duncan Hunter of El Cajon is chairman of the Republican Research Committee, a second-tier post that doles out task force chairmanships on various issues.

* Democrats in January: Fazio moves up to chairman of the Democratic Caucus, the No. 3 spot in the minority party.

* Republicans in January: Newport Beach Rep. Christopher Cox becomes chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the fifth-ranking GOP leadership position.

* Analysis: Parties retain their balance of one leadership position each, after Hunter loses his bid for fourth-ranking post of chairman of Republican Conference. GOP’s fervor to reinvent the House and enact its “Contract with America” lends cachet to Cox’s leadership position, particularly in light of the old Democratic leadership’s widely perceived failure to wield power effectively. Cox and Rep. David Dreier of San Dimas also were appointed to the influential Steering Committee and have Newt Gingrich’s ear.

COMMITTEES

* Democrats Now: After years of accumulated seniority, California boasts five chairmen of full committees: Ron Dellums (Oakland) of Armed Services; George Brown (San Bernardino) of Science, Space and Technology;, Norman Mineta (San Jose) of Public Works and Transportation; George Miller (Martinez) of Natural Resources, and Pete Stark (Hayward) of District of Columbia. California also has 13 subcommittee chairmen, most notably Henry Waxman (Los Angeles), Energy and Commerce health and environment subcommittee, and Stark, Ways and Means health subcommittee. Two others, Fazio and Dixon, are “cardinals,” heading up Appropriations subcommittees.

* Republicans Now: Hold 12 “ranking minority member” posts on wide range of committees, providing ample firepower to shepherd or attack Democratic legislation.

* Democrats in January: Loss of all full chairmanships and all subcommittee chairmanships. Democrats will scramble for ranking-minority slots under GOP committee system overhaul.

* Republicans in January: California emerges with only one full committee chairman, Bill Thomas (Bakersfield), who will head the renamed House Oversight Committee (formerly the House Administration Committee). Ron Packard (Oceanside) and Jerry Lewis (Redlands) will become Appropriations “cardinals,” overseeing legislative and VA, HUD and independent agencies’ subcommittees, respectively. Other subcommittee chairmanships are possible and the total probably will come close to Democratic numbers: Hunter will be first in line for a National Security (formerly Armed Services) subcommittee. Robert K. Dornan (Garden Grove) is expected to head up another National Security subcommittee. Carlos Moorhead (Glendale), who was passed over for two full chairmanships, will chair the Judiciary intellectual property subcommittee.

* Analysis: Vast Democrat power structure crumbles and in its stead, the state’s Republican members hope to deliver the legislative goods with a more modest array of powerbrokers. Thomas’ House Oversight Committee is focused on internal House matters and not on issues of importance to California. Gingrich has centralized more power in Speaker’s office at the expense of committee chairmen. State retains two Appropriations “cardinals,” but Packard will focus on downsizing congressional bureaucracy. Lewis chairs subcommittee with jurisdiction over a range of programs that account for the largest share of Congress’ discretionary spending.