GOP’s First Bill Prompts Senate Power Struggle

The new Republican majority’s first major bill ran into a traffic jam of Democratic amendments in the Senate on Friday, and it soon became clear that both sides were engaged in a power struggle over the pace and timing of the GOP attempt to dictate the legislative agenda.

The measure, called the Congressional Accountability Act, had breezed through the House earlier in the week. But the dispute over amendments offered by the Democrats promises a delay stretching at least into the middle of next week.

Last year, a similar bill backed by Democrats died in the Senate because of Republican objections. The bill makes Congress subject to the major workplace laws it has imposed on the executive branch and private employers.

In a reversal of roles, Republicans complained about Democratic delaying tactics. “They may think they are scoring points,” snapped Senate Majority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.), “but all they’re really doing is wasting time.”

Democrats countered that they were not trying to delay the bill but they sought to add amendments on a variety of matters.

“We are the majority, and we are going to dictate the agenda,” Lott said. “We are not going to let them dictate it by adding all sorts of extraneous amendments to this bill.”

The accountability act would extend to Congress several workplace regulations from which it is currently exempt, including the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

Because the responsibility for enforcing the laws lies with the executive branch, so the argument went, having federal regulators snooping around the halls of Congress to ensure compliance would amount to interference by one branch of government into the affairs of another.

Some Republican lawmakers also had argued that compliance could inflate congressional costs.

But looking desperately for ways to shake off the public image of Congress as a place of perquisites and privileges, lawmakers found themselves under growing pressure last year to demonstrate that they were willing to live by the same rules they impose on others.

The House acted first, approving the compliance act last August by a vote of 427 to 4. But it was blocked by Senate Republicans, who also killed a ban on gifts from lobbyists and other reform measures proposed by the Democrats.

When House Republicans revived the proposal in their “contract with America,” Democrats groused that it only proved that GOP senators had blocked it last year simply to deny President Clinton the opportunity to sign a popular bill before Election Day.

The Democrats promised to let the bill pass but not before they had tried to one-up the Republicans by seeking to revive the gift ban and other limits on lobbyists.

In the end, the ban, which would have barred trips, meals or any other gifts from lobbyists, proved unpopular on both sides of the aisle as the senators voted, 52 to 39, to delay action at least a month.

Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) sought to bar lobbyists from contributing to campaigns of any members that they had lobbied or planned to lobby. The proposal was defeated, 74 to 22.

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Sen. J. James Exon (D-Neb.) then sought an amendment requiring Republicans to specify the spending cuts necessary for a GOP-sponsored balanced-budget amendment. The attempt died, 53 to 30, on a party-line vote.

“What you basically saw today was two rival packs of dogs each trying to establish their territory in the new back yard,” a disgruntled Senate aide said.

More on Congress

* A complete listing of committee assignments for members of Congress from Southern California is provided by National Journal on the TimesLink on-line service. Sign on and “jump” to keyword “National Journal.” Reprints of articles outlining the prospects of the new Congress and its leaders are available from Times on Demand. For a free list of stories, call 808-8463, press *8630 and select option 1. Order No. 5600.

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THE 104TH CONGRESS: Developments on the Hill

Both parties met to consider strategy in the coming session. President Clinton huddled with Democratic congressional leaders; and Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole met with GOP governors.

IN THE HOUSE

* The Budget Committee, on a party-line vote, defeated a Democratic proposal that would outline how the federal budget would be balanced if a balanced-budget amendment were passed.

IN THE SENATE

* A similar Democratic amendment in the Senate, which would effectively force the GOP to detail how the budget would be balanced by 2002, was defeated, 53-30, also along party lines.

* Debate continued on a bill that would require members of Congress to comply with the same laws as other Americans.