GOP Tsunami Shakes Up Office-Swapping

The hallways of the Cannon House Office Building resembled a vast junk yard. Piles of assorted institutional furniture lined the corridors, a banged-up desk here, a worn file cabinet there. A green St. Patrick’s Day hat formed a still life with a half-full plastic highball glass, amber with cigarettes. A gooseneck lamp lay stricken in an apparent lethal back flip.

Down the way, the friendly face of Rep. Steve Horn (R-Long Beach) peered up from a dozen or so playing-card-size photos scattered rudely on the worn marble floor. The flip side listed Horn’s vital Washington statistics: his committees, his academic degrees, his D.C. and district office addresses.

But Horn needs a new set because he, along with 263 other House members, is moving into new Capitol Hill office spaces--a biennial bout of musical chairs in which members vie for the choicest office accommodations.

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With every new Congress, House members shuffle among the three office buildings that flank the south side of the Capitol.

Two years ago, a bumper crop of 110 freshmen descended on the Hill and precipitated about 300 moves. But changes in leadership and committee offices--caused by the Republican takeover--plus an influx of 86 new members will produce close to 400 moves, making this year the most frenzied relocation derby in decades, said Robert R. Miley, the House Building superintendent, who oversees the operation.

“This place is going crazy over here,” said Miley, sounding not at all perturbed by his assignment.

Miley’s crews of movers, painters, electricians and computer installers have been working virtually around the clock since Dec. 15--six suites a shift, 18 a day--to ensure that every new member can pick up his or her keys on Tuesday. “We pretty much have it down to a science,” Miley said.

There are some critics who say the whole thing is a gigantic waste of money and effort. Although Miley budgets only $460,000, mostly for contract painters, other costs kick the price tag to about $1 million, others estimate. Sen. Harris Wofford (D-Pa.) introduced a bill this year to abolish the practice. But the measure dropped from sight, along with Wofford, who was whisked from office in the Republican surge.

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The tsunami, as they like to call it here, carried away some Democratic barons whose longevity had earned them some of the best addresses. And the prospect of landing one of the prime locations spurred some veteran members to overcome their hate-to-move inertia.

In one of the new Congress’ emblematic office swaps, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), the vociferous Orange County conservative, is moving into the quarters of vanquished House Speaker Thomas S. Foley.

The most coveted offices are those that have commanding views of the Capitol. Visitors, meek and mighty alike, can’t help but be impressed by the soaring dome, and it makes a great backdrop for publicity photos of legislators, pen in hand, poring over some difficult but essential government text.

From an aerobic fitness standpoint, proximity to members’ committee rooms is certainly important, as are nearby restrooms and elevators. But plain old square footage is perhaps the most powerful attraction, as the making of laws produces an ungodly amount of supporting documents, reports and correspondence, the great majority of which are never again referred to by anyone but must be archived.

As with most dispensing of goodies around here, seniority rules. Among groups of lawmakers of equal rank, a lottery determines the order in which they can choose. For freshmen, a bad draw can lead to some pretty dismal digs.

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Former Palm Springs Mayor Sonny Bono wound up in what most members consider the least desirable neighborhood--the fifth floor of the Cannon House Office Building, the oldest of the six buildings where members of the House and Senate set up their administrative headquarters.

Aesthetically, the fifth floor is a disaster. Offices occupy only the inner loop while floor-to-ceiling storage bins, more appropriate for a cellar, line the outer wall.

Served by fewer elevators than the other floors, fifth-floor denizens often have to navigate the stairs to get to the Capitol across the street for votes--reportedly the longest trek from anywhere in the House complex.

But Bono is taking it all in stride, so to speak, saying through a spokesman that he’s glad to take whatever space is available and is just happy to be here.