Party Divisions Begin to Show Again

It’s beginning to look like politics as usual on Capitol Hill.

Democrats push a bill backed by labor unions; Republicans promote a bill rife with benefits for the oil industry; the House dissolves into squabbling over gay rights. Sound familiar?

After two weeks of struggling--with surprising success--to submerge partisan divisions and rally behind President Bush in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, familiar political divisions began reappearing Tuesday all over Capitol Hill. But there was this difference: Both parties pitched their priorities as essential to the nation’s emergency response to the Sept. 11 calamity and the ensuing economic problems.

Democrats called for unemployment compensation and other benefits for unemployed airline employees, saying that they too were victims of the attacks. The Republicans’ response: Not so fast.

Republicans are pushing for a quick vote on Bush’s energy policy, arguing that the country’s need for energy independence is more important than ever in wartime. Democrats are dragging their feet.

Those divisions underscore the limits of Congress’ much-vaunted unity. On many fronts, Bush has benefited from a wartime mood that has melted opposition to many of his initiatives, especially those related to terrorism and other national security issues. For example, Senate Republicans on Monday shelved their concerns about a trade agreement with Jordan and approved it to show support for a key ally in the Mideast. House Republicans submerged their objections to the United Nations and cleared a bill to pay back U.S. dues. Earlier, Senate Democrats backed away from a fight over Bush’s missile defense system.

But when it comes to issues that hit closer to home, it’s harder for the parties to break their partisan habits, especially now that the initial shock of the terrorist attacks has begun to wear off.

Exactly two weeks since hijacked planes crashed into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, the House found itself battling over gay rights in the District of Columbia. During debate on a D.C. appropriation bill, the House debated an amendment that would have prohibited the city from using local funds to provide city health care benefits to employees’ unmarried domestic partners, a practice opposed by many conservatives.

Gay-rights advocates chastised sponsors for pushing the controversial amendment, which was eventually rejected by the House, 226 to 194. “We are pleased the House found common cause in this difficult time and rejected this divisive measure,” said Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay-rights group.

A much bigger battle is shaping up on the broader issue of providing aid to workers who recently lost their jobs in the beleaguered airline industry. Democrats are pushing for a bill that would help these workers by expanding unemployment benefits, easing the continuation of health insurance and providing job training.

The Democrats cast this as the logical follow-up to last week’s approval of a $15-billion bill to shore up the airline industry, which was whisked through the House and Senate with broad bipartisan support.

“We hope to help airline and related workers in the same bipartisan, bicameral fashion,” House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said Tuesday at a news conference, flanked by dozens of other House Democrats--and nary a Republican.

Gephardt and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said they hoped that the workers’ benefits would be included in legislation, expected to be moved as early as next week, to enhance airport and airline security.

But that won’t happen if Republican leaders have their way. Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said Tuesday that he did not want the airline security bill slowed by the inclusion of workers’ benefits. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) did not support providing such benefits at all, saying that the best way to help unemployed workers is to stimulate the economy to create jobs.

Meanwhile, Republicans stepped up their demand for Senate action on legislation to expand domestic energy production. That was long a major Bush initiative, but Republicans say it is needed even more now to increase national security and shore up the economy.

In July, the House passed an energy bill that included Bush’s controversial proposal to expand drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. House and Senate Republicans, led by House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), called Tuesday for action on the bill in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) has been trying to pressure Senate Democratic leaders into scheduling a vote by threatening to raise the energy issue during debate on an unrelated defense authorization bill. But Senate leaders were reluctant to accede to his demand for a promise that there will be a vote on energy legislation before the end of the year.

Still, despite the resurgence of partisan differences, there are signs that the effort to build trust between the party leaders is not entirely dead. Top leaders of both parties had breakfast with Bush on Tuesday. Gephardt is traveling to Chicago with Bush later this week to talk to displaced airline workers.

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Times staff writer Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.