50-50 leaves Congress scrambling for committee control

by Jim Abrams
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Senate leaders reached tentative agreement on giving Republicans and Democrats equality on committees, a Democratic demand for a Senate split 50-50 for the first time.

In the House the 107th Congress got off to a rougher start, with House Democrats quickly accusing Republicans of violating the spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation pledged by party leaders.

Senate Democrats seemed happy with the idea of equally dividing committee seats, while Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi was trying to sell the plan to his colleagues.

The House GOP leadership faced the formidable task yesterday of choosing among Republicans vying for a dozen committee chairmanships, including the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes, and the Budget Committee, which sets spending priorities.

In addition, GOP sources said the leaders had contacted the incoming Bush administration to discuss a possible job for New Jersey Rep. Marge Roukema, signaling that the veteran lawmaker probably would be passed over when chairmanships were assigned.

Several Republican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said one possibility that had been broached was to appoint her the U.S. treasurer.

Roukema, a 20-year veteran of the House, is the senior Republican on the Banking Committee, and under the seniority system would be in line to lead the panel.

But the leadership signaled earlier in the week it had other ideas when it announced it was taking jurisdiction over the issues of securities and insurance away from the Commerce Committee and incorporating them into a newly constituted banking panel. Several sources predicted the leaders would pick Rep. Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, as chairman of the banking panel rather than Roukema.

Oxley is a senior member of the Commerce Committee but currently does not hold a seat on Banking.

Appointing him to the banking panel chairmanship would pave the way for Rep. W.J. Tauzin of Louisiana, a Democrat-turned-Republican, to assume the chairmanship of the Commerce panel. Tauzin and Oxley had been vying for the Commerce Committee post.

As the gavels went down Wednesday in the two chambers on the two-year session, Republicans were relishing the first time in 45 years they will control the House, Senate and the White House, if by the narrowest of margins. Democrats celebrated the swearing-in of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., the first first lady to win a seat in Congress.

Hastert, after his election to a second term as the House leader, outlined an ambitious agenda, promising to work with new President Bush to overhaul Social Security and Medicare, provide prescription drug coverage for all seniors, enact tax relief and improve the nation's schools.

Hastert said it was time to put the "deep wounds" of the last election behind them "and work with all of our colleagues to get the people's work done."