Majority leader will choose
half of ‘A panel’ committee seats
By Geoff Earle / The Hill
The Republican Conference changed its rules yesterday to give Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) new powers to ensure party discipline.
A coalition of loyalist and new senators managed unexpectedly to push through the more sweeping version of the proposed changes, defeating a watered-down proposal.
The stronger one, which passed on a 27-26 secret-ballot vote, allows Frist to fill half of all vacancies on “A” committees as he chooses. The other half would be made by seniority, the traditional way Republicans award committee slots.
“It certainly leaves the option open for significant changes in the way we do business around here,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), an opponent of the idea.
Critics warned that Frist could use his new powers to punish those who challenge party orthodoxy and reward those to toe the leadership line. Asked how he would employ his new powers, Frist told The Hill, “Sensibly, reasonably, responsibly.” He said he looked forward to “maximizing the strength of each U.S. Senate member.”
But Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a maverick who has criticized White House strategy, said, “I’m one who believes we must always be careful of centralization of power in any institution. We have to be careful with this. It has some unintended consequences.”
Most senators expressed optimism that Frist would wield the new authority wisely.
“See how it works,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “Change is good,” he added.
Opponents of the idea mostly rallied around a weaker version, sponsored by conference Chairman Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), which would grant the leader the ability to appoint two slots on each “A” committee as they became available.
One GOP aide said the stronger version prevailed partly because of support from a newly elected crop of seven GOP senators, who stand to gain from it. Since there were two mutually exclusive proposals on the table, “there was no middle ground,” the aide said.
Aides are already speculating about who will gain. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) hopes to win an open seat on the Appropriations Committee, having helped deliver a four-seat gain as chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. Allen is up for reelection in 2006, and both he and Frist are mentioned as possible GOP presidential candidates in 2008.
Frist could use his powers to create a star out of the new freshman class. The highest-profile member of the class is probably Sen.-elect John Thune (R-S.D.), who knocked off Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Thune has already been a staple on television talk shows since the election.
The new class contains potential troublemakers, such as Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who wrote a book strongly critical of party leaders. Frist could use the new powers to try to bring critics to heel.
He and other GOP leaders have taken some hits this week from conservative groups for failing so far to stop the ascension of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to chair the Judiciary Committee, an outcome that appears increasingly likely.
In that case, the GOP’s seniority system has stood up, supported by a great deal of damage-control work by Specter himself.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) noted how Daschle employed his powers as leader to install home-state Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) on Appropriations to aid Johnson’s reelection in 2002. Democratic leaders have authority under caucus rules to make all committee assignments.
“That’s how it’s done, if you want to be blunt about it,” Craig said.
Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who crafted the proposal that passed, noted how incoming Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) used his authority to dole out a coveted Finance Committee seat to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and persuade him to stay in the Senate.
“Harry Reid did not want Schumer to run for governor, and — voila — he gets Finance,” Lott said, “Our leader couldn’t make a triple play like that.”
Lott, a former majority leader, said Frist would use the authority to put senators with certain expertise on appropriate committees while securing regional balance on panels — or putting a senator with a specific regional interest on a committee with direct responsibility in that area. Frist could also use choice slots to boost the portfolios of Republicans who are up for reelection.
Just how many slots are available is unknown. Frist and Reid have yet to negotiate the ratios of Republican-Democratic membership on each panel.
“As leader, I never wanted a whip,” Lott said. “What I wanted were rewards. … I’ve always found that works better than threats.”
There are 12 “A” committees, which include the most desirable panels, such as Agriculture, Armed Services, Appropriations, Finance and Judiciary.
The GOP conference also passed a rule change stating that no member can hold more than one “B” committee assignment. That will make several additional committee assignments available to new members.
The change will force some senior lawmakers to make difficult choices about which cherished assignments to give up. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), for example, will have to give up either a seat on Budget, a panel he once chaired, or Indian Affairs, a committee of great interest to American Indians in his state.
Posted by Editor at November 17, 2004 08:43 PM
