California Republicans Expected to Wield Clout

WASHINGTON -- It sounds like an item for a political Ripley’s Believe It or Not: California, well-known as a Democratic stronghold, is gaining clout in the Republican-controlled House.

GOP lawmakers from the state that snubbed George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election and gave Democrats a sweep of statewide offices last month will chair at least three major House committees -- and maybe more -- in the new Congress. As a result, the state can expect greater influence in snagging federal dollars and in shaping legislation on such issues as defense, tax, trade and water policy.

“Everybody is saying, ‘We’re going to be the lost child out there in a sea of Republicans,’ but we might not be as lost as we think,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) is expected to be named head of the Armed Services Committee when House Republicans choose committee chairmen in early January.

He would join two other Californians set to retain their chairmanships -- Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield), who leads the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), who heads the Rules Committee, which decides which legislation comes to the House floor.

And Californians are vying to chair two other panels. Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), Ken Calvert (R-Corona) and Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy) are in contention for chairman of the Resources Committee, which oversees national forests and parks. This includes millions of acres of Western land, and the trio of Californians are among those trying to keep the panel from being led by an Easterner.

Meanwhile, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) is running to head the Government Reform Committee. He faces tough competition from Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-Va.), who is credited with helping the GOP expand its House majority in November’s election.

California also will have three seats -- more than any other state -- among the 10 or so Republican leaders who meet weekly with House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to plot legislative strategy. The three are Dreier, who earns a spot as Rules panel chairman; Cox, chairman of the House Policy Committee, and Rep. John T. Doolittle of Rocklin, recently elected GOP conference secretary.

Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento) said having Californians in these key positions could shield the state from federal budget cuts expected in some domestic programs. For California, he said, “maybe it won’t be as bad as it could be.”

That’s because of the horse-trading that is part of the legislative process. “Even those committees not controlled by Californians will have to be more California-sensitive,” Cox said. “Everyone needs a favor from time to time.”

By its sheer size, California’s House delegation -- 53 members, larger than any other state’s -- cannot be easily ignored. The state’s well-being is vital to the overall national economy. And the state’s profile in the House will be heightened by the Democrats’ selection of Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco as their new minority leader.

But it’s the growing influence of the state’s 20 GOP House members that is noteworthy.

“Considering how Democratic California has become, it is remarkable that the Golden State will be so powerful in a Republican House,” said Larry J. Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist.

Thomas and Dreier illustrate the dividends from having Californians as committee heads. The two are credited with helping win passage of two measures eagerly sought by the Silicon Valley -- a tax break benefiting high-technology industries and a bill granting the president broad authority to negotiate trade agreements.

“On our two biggest priorities -- tax relief and trade promotion authority -- both Thomas and Dreier came through for us,” said Ralph Hellman, vice president of the Information Technology Industry Council, a high-tech trade association.

With Hunter taking over as chairman of the Armed Services Committee and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) retaining his chairmanship of the appropriations subcommittee on defense, Californians will be in charge of all defense matters coming before the House. That means the state stands to gain a good share of defense contracts at a time of military buildup.

Hunter, in fact, recently boasted of obtaining $200 million for San Diego defense contractors -- and he isn’t even chairman yet.

In addition, Hunter and Lewis will keep watch over a burgeoning program for the Air Force’s massive C-17 air cargo jet at a Boeing assembly plant in Long Beach, and they are expected to fight to steer missile defense and homeland security dollars to the state.

Hunter also could play a key role in the next round of military base closures, scheduled by law for 2005. California has been hit hard by closures over the last decade, and Hunter clearly will be sensitive to concerns about the impact to the state of more shutdowns. He also is expected to confront complaints from state leaders that the federal government has not paid its share to clean up old bases and convert them to civilian use.

In one of the hottest chairmanship races, Gallegly, Calvert and Pombo are part of a crowded field to succeed retiring Rep. James V. Hansen (R-Utah) as head of the Resources Committee.

Based on seniority, the job should go to Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.). But some conservative Republicans have qualms about Saxton, who was endorsed by the Sierra Club and voted against the White House proposal to drill for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Also, on this committee, region matters as much as ideology. In part because of the panel’s importance to the West, no Northeasterner has chaired it since a New Yorker’s brief tenure at the helm in 1949.

Gallegly, who is just behind Saxton in seniority on the committee, is campaigning hard for the job. He has provided GOP colleagues with a 33-page report pledging, if chosen as chairman, to pursue an agenda of “common sense environmentalism” and tackle such issues as comprehensive energy legislation.

“My voting record reflects my conservative philosophy, strong party unity, and protection of private property rights,” he wrote. “My strong support for the Republican Party and its candidates shows my commitment to growing our majority.”

All three Californians seeking to head the Resources Committee have called for rewriting the Endangered Species Act to expand the rights of property owners. All three also have supported oil exploration in the Arctic refuge.

Cox is in a three-way race to succeed Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who must step aside as head of the Government Reform Committee because of term limits the GOP imposes on its chairmen.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) is No. 1 in seniority to succeed Burton. But some Republicans remain angry because he helped lead the rebellion this year that forced a vote on campaign finance reform over the objections of GOP leaders. Virginian Davis is considered a top contender because of his recent work as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which has played a key role in the GOP maintaining its House majority.

Some analysts suggest that the rising prominence of California GOP House members could boost the sagging fortunes of the state’s Republican Party.

“These folks can help rescue the GOP [in California] if they can send some pork our way,” said state political analyst Tony Quinn.

But others say Washington’s political realities will make it difficult for California’s House Republicans to parlay their power into GOP gains back home, especially with growing budget deficits that could inhibit their ability to finance projects in the state.

Gary C. Jacobson, a UC San Diego political scientist, noted that on such social issues as abortion rights, the top House leaders pursue “policies considerably to the right of the average Californian.”

He said that will undercut efforts to “give the Republican Party a more moderate image in the state.”