Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 30, 1992                   TAG: 9203300082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

HOUSE SPEAKER'S WIFE FACES SCRUTINY ON SCANDALS, TOO

Not to Speaker Tom Foley, but to his wife.

Heather Foley has run her husband's congressional office for 23 years - without pay. And as her husband's stature had increased, so has her influence.

Her recent appearance before a federal grand jury pushed Foley into the harsh glare of public scrutiny that has fallen on Congress as its multiple scandals widen.

It also touched off speculation that she was under investigation, prompting the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia to issue a letter last week stating that Foley "was neither a subject nor a target" of the investigation.

But the prosecutors' interest came as no surprise on Capitol Hill, where Foley is a widely known and warily regarded figure, a puzzle and a power, shy and reclusive, feared and resented.

"What's wrong with her is she is the boss's wife," said one House Democrat. "Nobody could go to Foley and say, `Heather's doing wrong by you.' That's what happens when you have a spouse involved in your office."

That congressman declined to be identified by name, as did nearly everyone else interviewed about Foley, owing to her power and position.

Since her marriage to the young Democratic congressman from Washington state, Heather Strachan Foley has been her husband's chief of staff. A lawyer, she has forgone private practice for the uncompensated power reflected from her husband.

Foley, 51, runs the day-to-day operations of the speaker's office, even controlling hiring and firing of staff. She has directed the remodeling of much of the House side of the Capitol, and has been criticized for perceived excesses such as expensive marble floors in elevators.

The grand jury questions came as Foley was the subject of published reports alleging that she had a role last year in delaying a Capitol Police investigation of embezzlement and drug sales at the House post office.

Foley's press secretary Jeff Biggs called the allegation "absolutely untrue."

The scandals have left Tom Foley besieged and the object of speculation that skittish Democrats may oust him as their leader. Many say his wife's departure is a price the speaker may have to pay for his own political survival.

Foley strongly defends her and said she will not step down, even temporarily.

"She has my full confidence," Foley said. "My wife has done nothing wrong. There's no reason for her to step aside as my chief of staff."