3 Jockey for Power of House’s Purse Strings

In his campaign to become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) recently gave a group of his most conservative colleagues a flier showing a bloated Uncle Sam. The caption: “Uncle needs a diet.”

The flier shows that, in this era of big budget deficits, Lewis and his two rivals for the powerful job must convince their fellow House Republicans that they are up to one of the toughest challenges of the new Congress: reining in spending.

The chairman of the Appropriations Committee, which decides how to spend more than $800 billion annually, has traditionally been the man to see to get money for a pet project. But it will be the job of the next chairman, said Robert Bixby, executive director of the independent budget watchdog group Concord Coalition, to say no.

That might make the job less satisfying, but Lewis and fellow Republican Reps. Ralph Regula of Ohio and Harold Rogers of Kentucky have been waging a fierce behind-the-scenes campaign to replace Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young (R-Fla.). Young has served the maximum six years, the limit imposed on committee chairmen after Republicans took control of the House in 1994.

A panel known as the Republican Steering Committee, made up of the party’s leaders in the House, is scheduled to meet privately with the candidates Monday and make its recommendation. The Republican rank and file will make the final decision, probably Wednesday.

The Senate, where Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has been Appropriations Committee chairman for six years, must also choose a replacement. Seniority is prevailing: Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the next most-senior committee Republican after Stevens, is running unopposed for the chairmanship.

In the House, the leading candidates appear to be Regula and Lewis. In a reflection of the sensitivity of their campaigns, none of the three candidates was willing to be interviewed for this article.

Regula, 80, a 32-year House veteran, is the Appropriations Committee’s most senior Republican after Young, followed by Lewis, 70, with 26 years on Capitol Hill.

But seniority, although a major factor in selecting committee leaders, is no longer the only one. Personality, party loyalty and a history of raising funds to help other Republican House candidates are also considerations.

So is geographical diversity. Lewis could be hurt by the fact that Californians already chair five House committees, more than lawmakers from any other state.

Regula, Lewis and Rogers have raised and contributed about $1 million each to the Republican Party and its candidates in the last two years. Lewis has raised and contributed $1.3 million to GOP candidates and party committees from Jan. 1, 2003, through Nov. 22, 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance. Rogers has contributed $1.1 million, and Regula $931,500.

But Lewis’ supporters say he has been a much more active fundraiser for other Republican candidates over his career than Regula or Rogers.

In addition, Rogers has raised more than $100,000 for the legal defense fund of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who will play a key role in selecting the next chairman. Some of his associates have been indicted in Texas on charges of campaign finance violations and the investigation continues. Lewis contributed $5,000 to the DeLay legal fund and helped rally his House Republican colleagues to contribute another $90,000. Regula has also turned over $5,000 from his political action committee to DeLay’s defense fund.

It is in the two appropriations committees that some of the most important fights in Congress will play out this year. Among their first tasks will be to move through Congress a measure that would provide as much as $80 billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The chairman will also need to become adept at budgetary gymnastics. He will have to balance President Bush’s goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009 with paying for military operations in Iraq, expanding domestic security programs, revamping Social Security -- an initiative that could cost more than $1 trillion over 10 years -- and reinvigorating the space program.

And if Lewis wins the job, he could feel additional pressure: to send more money to California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has complained that the state sends more money to Washington than it gets back.

Congressional observers say that austere times could actually enhance the chairman’s power.

“If you’re in charge of the Appropriations Committee at a time of stagnant or shrinking budgets, in some ways your power grows even more because you then really do control a lot more about who gets what,” said Michael Franc, a former Republican congressional staffer who is now with the conservative Heritage Foundation.

At least one nongovernmental conservative isn’t persuaded by the tight-spending promises the three candidates are making.

“We don’t have a dog in this fight,” said Richard Lessner, executive director of the American Conservative Union. “None of the candidates appear to be a fiscal conservative. Appropriators specialize in spending and need to be restrained by conservative members of the House concerned with smaller government.”

The spirited three-way contest shows that, whatever the affect of the lean budget environment, the Appropriations Committee chairmanship is still one of the most sought-after jobs in Washington.

“Sure, there will be tremendous pressure put on you to cut spending and balance the budget, but the reality is that if you control the nation’s purse strings, you can spread political grease to your favorite friends,” said Keith Ashdown, who monitors Congress for the nonpartisan watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Headaches aside, this is still a politician’s dream job.”