109th Congress – The New Lineup

environmentalist view

The Republicans gained four seats in the Senate giving them a 55-44 majority plus 1 independent. Pre-election the party breakdown was 51-48 plus 1 independent. Senate Democrat majority leader Tom Daschle lost his seat to Republican John Thune. The Republican’s greatest gains were in the Southeast picking up five of the eight open Senate seats. Republicans now hold both Senate seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia and Alabama, consolidating the South’s shift to the far right. Neither party has the 60 votes necessary for a filibuster, which is necessary under Senate rules to end floor debate on an issue and force a vote. In terms of forest issues, we lost three important Senators; Bob Graham (D-FL), Ernest Hollings (D-SC) and Senator John Edwards (D-SC), all of whom retired this year.

In the House, the GOP will control its sixth consecutive Congress with a Republican majority over the Democrats of 231-201 with two Louisiana races to be decided in December runoffs. Previously there were 229 Republicans, 205 Democrats and 1 independent.

A major shift in the House came from House Majority Whip Tom Delay (R-TX) who engineered a redistricting in Texas that gained Republicans five new seats. Texas will now send 21 Republicans to the House, more than any other state. Had the unprecedented redistricting not occurred, Republicans would likely have lost two seats, before the Louisiana votes. Delay’s strategy to increase the Republican power base by redrawing the maps in Texas worked. Outside of Texas, Republican’s picked up only two seats while the Democrats took four Republican seats. Several veteran Texas Democrats including Charles W. Stenholm, Martin Frost, Nick Lampson and Max Sandlin all lost to Republicans when the new district maps tilted to the GOP.

The most notable change is that the House and Senate are now further polarized with an increase in very conservative members coupled by a loss of moderate Republicans and other more centrist Members. The new class of conservative Republicans elected on November 7th to the Senate includes Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and David Vitter of Louisiana who strengthen the bloc of reliable votes for the Bush agenda. Coburn, DeMint and others are all strongly conservative and likely will resist efforts to compromise on ideological issues.

The Senate

Nine new Senators will join the 109th Congress: two Democrats and seven Republicans. Five open seats that were held by Democrats went to Republicans, two open seats held by Republicans went to Democrats, and one open seat held by a Republican is unchanged. Here are the new members:

Colorado: Democrat Attorney General Ken Salazar (D) won the open seat vacated by retiring Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R) in a tossup race against Republican beer baron Peter Coors. Senator Salazar is a fiscally conservative consensus-builder, who grew up on his family’s ranch in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. His background has led him to have a “special relationship and a special sense of place through the ditches and the rivers and the trees.” As Attorney General, Salazar created the first-ever Environmental Prosecutions Unit. He also served as head of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Senator-elect Salazar holds great potential as an advocate for forests.

Florida: Mel Martinez (R) won the open seat vacated by retiring Senator Bob Graham (D) holding a slight lead over Democrat challenger Betty Castor. Martinez is a close political ally of President Bush. Bush selected Martinez to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2001. He left his Cabinet post in 2003 to run for the Senate at the President’s urging. In Senator Graham’s retirement, forests loose a consistently strong supporter. He earned a lifetime score of 92 on American Lands Alliance’s Congressional Forest Scorecard.

Georgia: Former Representative Johnny Isakson (R) won the open seat vacated by Zell Miller (D). The switch of this seat to Republican Johnny Isakson probably will not make a material difference to forests. As a House Member Isakson earned a score of zero on American Lands’ Congressional Scorecard as did Zell Miller.

Illinois: Barack Obama (D) won the open seat vacated by retiring Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R). Barack has spent a lifetime fighting effectively to empower working families and the poor as a community organizer, civil rights attorney and a leader in the Illinois Senate. Barack gained national attention for his passionate speech as a Keynote Speaker at the Democratic National Convention.

Louisiana: Representative David Vitter won a slim majority, defeating Democrat challenger in his bid to secure the seat of retiring Senator John Breaux (D). John Breaux was a swing vote for forest issues but never really stepped up to the plate earning a 20% lifetime score on American Lands’ Congressional Scorecard. Vitter is a strong defender of Louisiana’s farming and energy interests and of what he calls “Louisiana values,” socially conservative stands on issues such as opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

North Carolina: Representative Richard Burr (R) won the open seat vacated by John Edwards (D) defeating former Clinton aide Erskine Bowles. With the election of Burr, North Carolina will have two Republican Senators. Senator Edwards, with a lifetime score of 100% on American Lands’ scorecard will be missed.

Oklahoma: Obstetrician Tom Coburn won the race to replace retiring Republican Don Nickles, defeating Democratic Representative Brad Carson. Tom Coburn, was a zealous member of the revolutionary 1994 House GOP freshman class, who never wavered in his ardent fiscal conservatism, his opposition to abortion, and his determination not to adopt a mindset of incumbency or be seduced by the promise of power. He was among the group that plotted in 1997 to oust then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) for abandoning conservative principles. Coburn can be expected to take a hard line on spending issues. He promises to assume an active oversight role in search of wasteful programs.

South Carolina: Jim DeMint (R) won the open seat vacated by Fritz Hollings (D). The retirement of Senator Ernest “Fritz” Hollings is a loss for forests. Senator Hollings was a solid supporter of forest and wildlife issues who earned a lifetime score of 100% on American Lands’ Congressional Scorecard.

South Dakota: John Thune (R) defeated Senator Tom Daschle, Senate Minority leader. The Republicans will likely reward Thune for defeating the top Senate Democrat, with a seat on the Agriculture Committee and he will be in the running for any openings on the Environment and Public Works and Small Business panels. It is expected that Thune will a prominent role in his party on issues crucial to farmers and small towns in South Dakota. His rural priorities mirror those he set while serving in the House (1997-2003). Thune is a reliable conservative on many of issues, including supporting efforts to restrict abortion, limit liability lawsuits and prevent gay marriage. He has bucked his party to support legislation to permit the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, and while he has been a proponent of spending cuts to balance the budget, Thune deviates from the anti-deficit conservative line when it comes to funding South Dakota programs.

Senate Leadership
Senate Democrats and Republicans are meeting this week to select their respective leadership. Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid (D-NV) is in line to replace Daschle as Minority Leader, and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) is expected to move into Reid’s current position as Minority Whip in the 109th Congress. The Democratic Conference is scheduled to elect the leadership team this week. Senator Reid has a lifetime score of 79% and Senator Durbin earned a lifetime score of 100% on American Lands’ Congressional Scorecard.

Republican Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) is the current Majority Leader and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is the Senate Majority Whip.

Agenda
Outside of the energy bill, Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee says the committee will focus on western water issues. Reforming the Endangered Species Act is another top priority mirroring similar efforts in the House. Another agenda item will likely be to speed up post fire logging. Legislation introduced by Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) would mandate artificial post-fire reforestation, providing a loophole to conduct post-fire logging after a wildfire. The outdated forest management proposals in this bill will likely impede natural recovery after wildfires, increase wildfire severity and damage wildlife habitat and substitute native forests with impoverished tree plantations. Senator Wyden will work to increase funding for the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. We could also see more attempts to gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Committee Assignments
There will be changes in committee assignments to fill vacated seats as well as other potential shifts. The Democrats and Republicans are discussing committee assignments this week in their party organizing meetings. We will keep you posted. The most important committees for forest issues are Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and its Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee, the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and the Agriculture Committee and its Forestry, Conservation and Rural Revitalization Subcommittee. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has jurisdiction over the Endangered Species Act.

With the new Republican majority in the Senate, we can expect them to further entrench their power by expanding their margin on committees. The number of seats on each committee is set by Senate rules, but party leaders negotiate the partisan ratios based on how many seats are held by each party. With 55 seats, Republicans may demand a two-seat advantage on all panels, the same edge they enjoyed in the 106th Congress, when the GOP held a 55-45 edge in the Senate.


The House

The GOP heads into its sixth consecutive Congress in control of the House. At 231- 201, with two Louisiana races to be decided in December runoffs, the party is near its modern high-water mark of 236 House members, a number achieved in late 1995. Next year’s House majority, however, will have fewer moderates and a corps of new conservatives.

GOP freshmen Thelma Drake of Virginia, Louie Gohmert and Ted Poe of Texas, Cathy McMorris of Washington, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, Connie Mack of Florida and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana are arriving after being elected with the support of the conservative Club for Growth.

The new set of conservatives, including new Members from Texas will likely bolster Representative Tom DeLay’s conservative agenda. Veteran Texas Democrats Charles W. Stenholm, Martin Frost, Nick Lampson and Max Sandlin all lost to Republicans, producing by far the most dramatic shift in the House elections.

At the same time the Republican conference will no longer include such moderates as Doug Bereuter of Nebraska, James C. Greenwood of Pennsylvania, and Jack Quinn and Amo Houghton from New York.

Freshman

• Colorado: John Salazar (D-CO-3rd) won the open seat vacated by Scott McInnis (author of the HFRA and 0% on American Lands’ scorecard). Salazar voted to prevent clear-cutting, protect water quality and promote water conservation. Most notably, Salazar was a leader on a bi-partisan effort in Colorado to defeat a dam-building initiative on last November's ballot. John Salazar’s top priority will be ensuring that water derived from the snowmelt of Colorado’s Western Slope will be retained for his district’s local ranchers and farmers, which is larger than Florida, instead of being sent to growing populations in California and Nevada. He is seeking membership on the Resources and Agriculture committees. John Salazar is Senator elect Salazar’s brother.
  

• Illinois: Melissa Bean (D-IL-8th) beat incumbent Philip Crane (0% on American Lands’ scorecard) Phil Crane was the longest serving Republican member in Illinois. Twenty-year businesswoman Melissa Bean is a self-described fiscal conservative who advocates for small and medium size companies and pay-as-you-go budget rules that require offsets for tax cuts and spending increases. A top priority for her is helping businesses afford health insurance for their employees. Other interests include environmental protections for the Great Lakes.
  

• Illinois: Dan Lipinski (IL-D-3rd) Defeated Ryan Chlada (R) to succeed retiring Representative William O. Lipinski (D). Like his father William O. Lipinski, who has held the seat for 22 years, Dan Lipinski is an economic populist, conservative on some social issues and devoted to transportation issues important to Chicago. This is his first elected office although he has worked behind the scenes in politics and was served as Congressional aide to former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri. Dan’s father earned a lifetime score of 64% on American Lands’ scorecard.
  

• Michigan: Joe Schwarz (R-MI-7th) took the open seat vacated by Nick Smith (7% American Lands’ score) who is retiring this year. Freshman Joe Schwarz is a moderate Republican who is also among the most experienced, having spent 16 years as an influential state senator. Schwarz supports abortion rights, would consider tax increases and strongly advocates an increased federal presence in several areas, particularly higher education and transportation. As a 30 year eye, nose and throat doctor, he supports increased federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Schwartz will have to watch his position, or face a potential challenge from the right in 2006. His moderation cost him the seat when he first ran for it a dozen years ago; Nick Smith, the GOP incumbent, outflanked him on the right.
  

• Florida: State Senator Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-20th) won the open seat vacated by Peter Deutsch (100% on American Lands’ scorecard). Debbie Wasserman Schultz describes herself as almost always in agreement with her predecessor on major issues. She was Deutsch’s legislative aide when he was a state legislator.
  

• New York: Brian Higgins (D-NY-27th) won the open seat vacated by Jack Quinn (20% on American Lands’ scorecard). Republicans have held the 27th district, which is near the Canadian border, since 1992 when Republican Jack Quinn, was elected. Higgins won by painting his opponent, Republican Nancy Naples, as too conservative. He describes himself as a moderate who will look after the district’s interests, including job growth, prescription drug benefits that allow government to negotiate volume discounts to lower costs. He also wants Congress to repeal President Bush’s tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest individuals. Higgins was elected to the state Assembly in 1998 and served on the Transportation and Environmental Conservation committees.
  

• Pennsylvania: Allyson Schwartz (D-PA-13th) took the open seat vacated by Joe Hoeffel who ran for the Senate (Hoeffel earned a 100% on American Lands’ scorecard). Allyson spent 14 year in the State legislature and has a solid record on health care, education and jobs. In Congress Schwartz wants to expand child health care coverage for working families, make it easier for small businesses to reduce health care costs and make the 2003 Medicare prescription drug benefit simpler for recipients. Schwartz also plans to ensure that the government is fiscally responsible.
  

• Georgia: John Barrow (D-GA-12th) beat incumbent Max Burns (0% on American Lands’ scorecard). Barrow’s goal is to rework the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill to ensure that oncologists receive adequate compensation for treating cancer patients. Barrow who served as a county commissioner for 14 years, referred to himself as a “flaming moderate” on the campaign trail and plans to add his name to the ranks of the fiscally conservative House Blue Dog Democrats.
  

• California: Former California State Legislator and lobbyist Jim Costa, (CA-D-20th) defeated Roy Ashburn (R) to succeed Cal Dooley (D) who retired this year. Costa served in the California legislature for 26 years where he developed a reputation for expertise in issues of concern to local farmers particularly water. His moderate pro-business positions have not always endeared him to local labor leaders and environmentalists. Costa is from a long line of Central Valley farmers who trace their origins to Portugal’s Azores Islands. Cal Dooley was a swing vote on forest issues, earning a 47% lifetime score on American Lands’ scorecard. Costa is interested in a seat on the Transportation and Infrastructure and Agriculture committees.
  

Notable Wins

• Kentucky: Ben Chandler (D-KY-6th) won in a special election and now returns. He was first elected to the House in February 2004. Chandler sits on the House Agriculture Committee. He is likely a supporter of forest issues.
  

• Georgia: Cynthia McKinney (D-GA-4th) won the open seat vacated by Denise Magette who ran for Senate this year. Representative McKinney was a co-sponsor of the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act (NFPRA). After a decade representing DeKalb County in the House from 1993-2003 Cynthia A. McKinney lost the Democratic nomination for a sixth term to Denise L. Majette. But Majette decided to run for the Senate this year, opening the way for McKinney’s return.
  

Losses

• Indiana: Baron Hill (100% score on American Lands’ scorecard) was beat by Republican Mike Sodrel. Hill was a good friend of forest protection and a key ally on the House Agriculture Committee. “Jobs, taxes and values” were Sodrel’s campaign platforms. Sodrel is a self made millionaire whose fundraisers featured Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, (R-Ill). Indiana’s 9th District is one of the nation’s top tobacco producers.
  

• Texas: Nick Lampson (TX-D-2nd) who earned an 86% rating on American Lands’ Congressional Scorecard lost to Republican Ted Poe. A former state district judge and assistant district attorney in Harris County, Texas, for the last 31 years Poe wants to tackle problems facing Congress, including a rising deficit and increased costs in health care. Poe said he has been too focused on his election to consider which committees he would like to serve on and preferred to leave the decision up to the House leadership.
  

• Texas: Martin Frost was beat by Pete Sessions (TX-R-36th) in one of the Texas redistricting fights; Sessions is 0%, Frost was 64%.
  

• Missouri: Russ Carnahan (MI-D-3rd) defeated Bill Federer (R) to succeed Richard Gephardt, (D) who ran for president. Representative Richard Gephardt earned a 100% on American Lands’ scorecard. Carnahan’s grandfather served in Congress. His father Mel, a former Missouri governor, was running for the Senate four years ago when he was killed in a plane crash, Mel Carnahan was elected posthumously over then Republican Senator John Ashcroft, and Russ’ mother, Jean Carnahan, was appointed to serve in her husband’s place. Jean Carnahan was unseated in 2002 by Republican Jim Talent. Carnahan will be a reliable Democratic vote on many issues. He supports stem cell research, expanding medical services to the uninsured, allowing the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, and increasing the minimum wage.
  

House Leadership
Both the Democrats and Republicans are meeting this week to elect their leadership teams. Minority leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Minority Whip are expected to maintain their positions.

Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) House Majority Whip were re-elected today by the Republican Conference. House Speaker Denny Hastert has been re-nominated. The election for the House Speaker will occur in January when the 109th Congress convenes.

Agenda
After two years as House Resources Committee chairman, Republican Richard W. Pombo is ready to pursue his top priority in the 109th Congress, revising the 1973 Endangered Species Act (PL 93-205). A California rancher and property rights advocate, Pombo has said he came to Congress to change the law, which he calls outdated and ineffective. The committee approved two bills (HR 2933, HR 1662) in July that would alter the way the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service makes decisions under the law, including setting standards to designate “critical habitat” that must be protected. The Senate did not move on either bill this year. Pombo has said his other priority will be energy legislation. The committee would have jurisdiction over parts of an energy bill that would allow drilling for oil and gas in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), encourage hydroelectric power production, loosen restrictions on coal leasing and provide incentives for developing geothermal energy.

Pombo has said he might try to expand the “Healthy Forests Restoration Act” (PL 108-148) that authorizes the thinning of 20 million acres of forests in order to prevent wildfires. The Forest Service says 90 million acres are at risk.

Committee Assignments
The Democrats will likely make decisions on Committee assignments in January. We will keep you posted on new assignments.

The most important committees for forests are the Resources Committee and its Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee, the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, and the Agriculture Committee. The Resources Committee has jurisdiction over the Endangered Species Act.

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