Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post
Newsgroups: americast.wpost
From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com
Organization: American Cybercasting
Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com
Subject: House Democratic Leaders Travel to Freshman Class; Foley, Five Others Begin
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 05:41:19 EST
Message-ID: <37.1992Nov9.054120@AmeriCast.com>

House Democratic Leaders Travel to Freshman Class; Foley, Five
Others Begin Round of Visits to Take Early Soundings From
Members-Elect<By Kenneth J.  Cooper<Washington Post Staff Writer=

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 8 - A group of 18 Democrats newly elected to
the House from western states caucused with party leaders today
for the first time, and the members-elect didn't have to fly to
Washington to get to the closed-door meeting.

It was Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) and five House Democrat-
ic leaders who did the traveling, so they could be the first to
convene and size up the freshman Class of 1992, which has been
inundated with more than the usual number of invitations to
"orientation" sessions in the coming weeks. With 110 members, the
largest incoming class since 1948 will make up a little more than
a quarter of the House at a time congressional overhaul has be-
come a major issue.

But at today's meeting the incoming legislators were said to be
far more concerned about the economy, health care and the federal
deficit than with how the House operates.

"What's vital is the economy, what's vital is health care, and
what's vital is getting the deficit under control," said Sam Cop-
persmith, a Phoenix lawyer who defeated Rep. John J. Rhodes III
(R-Ariz.). "The other issues, I think, are less important to
those three things."

Anna G. Eshoo, a San Mateo County (Calif.) superviser, said the

politically experienced westerners were "prepared, with our col-
lective background and experience, which I'm sure is a couple of
hundred years of experience between us, to hit the ground run-
ning" on those major issues.

Democrats and Republicans are to receive their formal freshmen
orientations in Washington next month, but leaders of the Demo-
cratic majority are making an unprecedented trip here and to Chi-
cago and Atlanta on successive days this week to take early
soundings from their new colleagues and pick up any hints of con-
flicts ahead.

The three-hour meetings, which are privately financed, are being
conducted at airport hotels. The airport sites and tight
schedules have led some Democratic aides to dub the trip a "fly-
around," a campaign term for rapid tarmac-to-tarmac stops just
before an election. The campaign metaphor is apt because the
stated purposes sounded expressly political.

"We want to know what this class is thinking, particularly as
they get together and compare notes for the first time," Rep. Vic
Fazio (D-Calif.), vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said
last week. "What is it that they are expecting from their
leaders? Should they be reelected? What is it that they hope to
accomplish in terms of. . . rules changes?"

"We're going to have a dialogue with them, talk about opportuni-
ties in Congress," Foley said last week.  Several western fresh-
men confirmed that among "opportunities" discussed informally
were committee assignments, with more choice ones open than usual
because senior members joined a postwar record wave of retire-
ments. Foley told reporters freshmen were "likely" to get some
slots on powerful panels.

Dan Hamburg, a former county supervisor who defeated Rep. Frank
D. Riggs (R) in northern California, said beforehand he planned
to "angle a little bit for the committee assignments I want" on
Appropriations, Ways and Means, or Energy and Commerce.

House Democrats, including the newcomers, are to meet in Washing-
ton next month and consider rules changes as well as elect
leaders and committee chairmen. Under an accelerated schedule
given to members-elect, committees are to be organized and ready
to do business before Bill Clinton's inaugural on Jan. 20, Foley
said.

Foley, whose speakership was rocked by the House Bank scandal
last spring, has recouped so strongly that he and the other Demo-
cratic leaders are expected to be reelected without serious oppo-
sition.  One leadership aide said about 200 Democrats out of
fewer than 260 have promised to vote for Foley.

But the Democratic leaders are taking no chances that its party's
64 or so freshmen might find a voice, set a course or pick
leaders in orientation meetings hosted by others.

A Republican House candidate in California who lost, Tom Huening,
is still trying to pull together two days of bipartisan meetings
in Omaha later this month. About 150 candidates from both parties
signed up, but only 15 - two of them Democrats - won last week.

"I don't think that's much of a revolt, do you? I think this is a
better one here," said Eshoo, who defeated Huening but had al-
ready signed up for the Omaha meeting.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, has for
the first time organized policy briefings for House freshmen to
compete with ones Harvard University's Institute of Politics has
hosted since 1972.

The Congressional Black Caucus has scheduled its first freshmen
orientation meetings for a record 17 new members to follow the
last Democratic leadership meeting Tuesday in Atlanta.

Robert Filner, a San Diego councilman, has tried arrange a gath-
ering of freshmen Democrats before the Democratic Caucus meets in
December. Filner said he wanted "to see if we can get organized
before they disorganize us."

Among freshmen from California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona
and Texas at today's meeting, two characteristics of the Class of
1992 were pronounced. All but one have been elected to public of-
fice or worked in government, and the 10 women are better than
half the group. In the entire class, nearly three in four are ex-
perienced in government or politics, and one of five is a woman.

"I want to say something about this team. Take a look at it: It
represents America," said Lynn Woolsey, a city councilwoman in a
San Francisco suburb, said of a group that besides the women in-
cluded two Hispanics, one African American  and one Asian.

Besides Foley, the leaders attending today's meeting were: Major-
ity Leader Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), Democratic Caucus Chairman
Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) and Chief Deputy Whips John R. Lewis (Ga.),
Butler Derrick (S.C.) and Barbara B. Kennelly (Conn.).<04:59 11-
09C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

For more information, send-email to American Cybercasting Cor-
poration (usa@AmeriCast.COM)