Liberals in Line to Run House if Power Switches

One is a hero of environmental activists. Another routinely gets a 100% rating from labor unions. And more than half of them voted against President Clinton’s landmark 1996 law to end welfare as we know it.

Such is the political profile of some of the Democrats who will be running the show if their party wins control of the House on election day. From Rep. Henry A. Waxman of Los Angeles, a leading advocate of expanding access to health care, to Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, a strong supporter of strict gun-control laws, the senior Democrats in line to become committee chairmen include some of Congress’ most liberal members.

The reason: Power on Capitol Hill is distributed according to seniority, and the Democrats who have been around the longest come from the safest, and generally more liberal, Democratic districts.

The result: Many of the House’s chairmen-in-waiting are cut from a different political cloth than the more moderate mantle many Democrats, including presidential nominee Al Gore, are wearing in this year’s campaign.

Republicans are trying to make political hay out of that contrast. They are spotlighting the would-be chairmen to argue that a Democratic House would lurch to the left--even though a growing number of moderate “new Democrats” have been elected in recent years.

“Most of these guys owe their election and career to Big Labor,” said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “The ‘new Democrats’ are out there, but when it comes to making policy and deciding what bills come to the floor, they are out of power.”

Democrats reject Davis’ argument as an ideological scare tactic that exaggerates how liberal a Democratic House would be. They say that six humbling years in the minority--and the likelihood that they would govern with only a wafer-thin majority--means that even their party’s liberal lions will rule like pragmatic lambs.

“The Democratic caucus is a different one than it was six years ago,” said Erik Smith, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “It’s moved to the middle. It’s got leaders who are chastened by the turn of events six years ago. If the future Democratic majority doesn’t govern from the middle, it won’t be sustainable.”

Still, some moderate Democrats are worried that the differences between the older, more liberal members and the growing younger generation of moderates will reopen divisions within the party that have been largely submerged since the 1994 election.

“There’s no question you could see a generation gap,” said Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento). “The real problem is whether the left wing of our caucus is going to demand that the leadership move left.”

Rep. Gephardt Would Take Speaker’s Job

If Democrats win Congress, the most visible change of leadership will be in the speaker’s office, where the gavel would pass from J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), who is now House minority leader.

The change of control of congressional committees will be less prominent but of great consequence because committee chairmen wield enormous legislative influence in Congress. They help set the party’s legislative agenda and have a strong hand in writing the crucial details of bills.

All that power is a big part of the prize that will be awarded to whichever party wins control of the House on Nov. 7. Republicans’ control is now so tenuous that Democrats need to win only seven seats to gain a majority. When voters cast their ballots, it will affect not only who represents their home districts but also which party will grab the levers of committee power.

A Democratic takeover could bring new benefits to California, which has at least three Democrats in line to be chairmen: Waxman is in line to preside over the Committee on Government Reform, an oversight panel that reviews programs throughout the federal government. Rep. Julian C. Dixon of Los Angeles, a longtime Waxman ally, likely would take over the Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees authorization of U.S. intelligence-related activities. And George Miller of Martinez would be expected to head the Committee on Education and the Workforce, which deals with school aid and labor law.

In the current GOP-controlled Congress, Californians chair two committees (and only one exercises significant legislative clout). Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) heads the Rules Committee, which plays a key role by setting the terms of floor debate on bills. Rep. William M. Thomas (R-Bakersfield) is chairman of the House Administration Committee, which mainly handles routine housekeeping matters, such as assignment of office space.

Conservatives Could Get 3 Chairmanships

In a Democrat-controlled House, a few chairmen would come from the party’s conservative wing. Southern Democrats, for instance, are in line to lead the committees on Budget, National Security and Agriculture. But on most other key committees, those who would become chairmen first came to Congress in the 1960s and ‘70s, when many Democrats were not shy of the liberal label. These include:

* Conyers, likely head of the Judiciary Committee. First elected in 1964, he was an early proponent of a guaranteed annual income. Over the years, he has compiled what the Almanac of American Politics characterizes as “one of the most liberal voting records in the House.”

* Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), likely head of the Appropriations Committee. A House member since 1969, he has remained a firm believer in government playing a large role in managing the economy and creating jobs. He also has been an ardent critic of Republican efforts to curb spending for the poor.

* Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), likely head of the tax-writing Committee on Ways and Means. First elected in 1970, he has been an advocate for the needs of the urban poor and a proponent of tax code changes to help the needy. He also was a leading critic of the 1996 welfare reform legislation that President Clinton backed.

Among Californians slated for chairmanships, Waxman and Miller were both part of the influx of liberal Democrats first elected in the fabled post-Watergate class of 1974. Both have been leaders on environmental protection and have compiled solid pro-labor voting records. Dixon, first elected in 1978, has a similarly liberal voting record.

GOP campaign chairman Davis has compiled a comparison of the voting records of current GOP committee chairmen and Democrats who would succeed them. The analysis shows, for example, that current Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer (R-Texas) voted with the small-business lobby 100% of the time, compared with Rangel’s 6%.

Still, the agendas these Democrats would promote as committee chairmen may not be as liberal as their records would indicate. In recent years, some have shown pragmatic streaks and have veered to the center on key issues.

Miller worked with Republicans this year on a major environmental initiative. Rangel made a rare break with the labor movement and voted in May to establish normal trade relations with China. And he promises that he would run the Ways and Means Committee with a bipartisan hand.

“There is no Republican or Democratic way to get major legislation through the House,” he said.

Waxman also sounds conciliatory. “Six years out of power has left many of us with the strong conviction that we need to work on a bipartisan basis,” he said.

Some centrist Democrats argue that their growing numbers in the House Democratic Caucus also would have a moderating effect on their leadership, putting pressure on them to support a centrist agenda of expanding trade, increasing accountability in education and personal responsibility in welfare programs.

“New Democrats are going to be critical to helping steer the Democratic caucus in a direction that represents more where the presidential campaign has gone,” said Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democratic Network, the coalition’s fund-raising arm. “If we veer left, it’s going to make it more difficult for us to keep the majority.”

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Congress’ Chair Apparents

If November’s vote gives Democrats control of the House, new committee chairmen will include some of Congress’ most liberal members.