High-Stakes Vote for State
By DEVLIN BARRETTWall Street Journal
September 29, 2010
New York's political power structure would see major changes if Republicans accomplish their goal of retaking control of the House of Representatives in November, as a number of senior Democrats chairing powerful committees would face demotions to lesser roles.
Five weeks before Election Day, polls around the country suggest the Democrats are in real danger of losing their majority.
"There's a lot at stake here,'' said Rep. Jose Serrano of the Bronx, who is chairman of an appropriations subcommittee that controls spending for a new financial markets consumer-protection agency just created by Congress. "On seniority alone, if Democrats were not in the majority, New York would lose a lot of subcommittee and committee chairmanships.''
On the other side of the aisle, one New York politician would stand to gain tremendously from GOP control. Long Island Republican Peter King would be in line to become chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, a shift that would only elevate his status as a major critic of the Obama administration's anti-terrorism policies.
Mr. King said the Democratic Congress "has given the administration too much of a pass,'' and said if elevated to chairman, he would focus on issues of counter-terror funding for cities such as New York, as well as "having a public debate on Islamic terrorism, and whether or not the Muslim community cooperates enough.''
A Republican takeover would have other consequences for Mr. King as well. As the only New York Republican with any significant seniority in the House, he would likely become a major conduit to the new Republican leadership.
A host of other New Yorkers, however, would see their stocks fall in a Republican Congress.
New York has two Democrats—Mr. Serrano and Rep. Nita Lowey of Westchester County—who chair appropriations subcommittees. Lawmakers with those jobs are referred to as "cardinals'' as a measure of respect for the grip they have on governmental purse strings.
Ms. Lowey said she was confident Democrats would hold onto their majority, but said whatever the election outcome, New York lawmakers need to work together in bipartisan fashion.
Then there are the other committee chairmen from New York, including Rep. Louise Slaughter of Rochester, who heads the Rules Committee, which is a key arbiter of votes on legislation, and Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who chairs the Small Business Committee.
A GOP House would also mean Brooklyn Rep. Edolphus Towns would no longer be chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. That panel conducts investigations of the government and would likely become a key point of friction between the Obama administration and any new GOP-controlled House.
A reversal of House control would end a very short period of Democratic dominance, since Republicans only lost the House in 2006. They solidified those gains in 2008, in part due to congressional victories in New York State.