Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 18, 1993 TAG: 9302180445
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ONE SMALL STEP
BY TRADITION, freshmen lawmakers are supposed to sit quietly as backbenchers and go along to get along with their seniors.But an unprecedented number of newcomers elected to Congress last fall are apparently taking seriously President Clinton's - and the public's - call for "change."
It was Republican freshmen - including 6th District Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke - who recently led a revolt against the House leadership's efforts to reauthorize a handful of "select committees."
These committees are supposed to be temporary panels that study certain problems, issue reports, and then dissolve. Some, however, have been around since Hector was a pup. They've become institutionalized because they're showboats for lawmakers eager to convey the illusion that they're hard at work solving problems. The selects also are a tent under which special-interest groups may camp.
Recently, on what was expected to be routine approval for the House's Select Committee on Narcotics, Abuse and Control, the GOP's freshmen lawmakers said "Whoa!" And many of the Democratic freshmen joined in.
The upstarts said they had promised to cut the size and unwieldiness of government; they had promised not to kowtow to special interests; and they would not sit quietly while the House leadership maintained the status quo. "To everyone's amazement," said California Republican Steve Horn, who helped organize the revolt, "we won."
To be sure, it was a largely symbolic victory. Altogether, the select committees cost a mere $4 million a year, a paltry sum in light of the overall cost of deficit-ridden government.
And even that small battle isn't over. House leaders have postponed votes on their other select committees - giving special-interest lobbyists time to twist the freshmen's arms. The National Council of Senior Citizens, for instance, has called reauthorization of a select committee on aging its highest priority.
Still, the elimination of window-dressing committees might send a signal, and create some momentum for change. Congress is a mess, its committee system a major contributor to Washington gridlock. Before Congress can take big steps that Clinton has proposed to get its house in order, it may help to take some little steps. Especially if they step on big toes.