Freshmen Lawmakers Keep Hectic Schedules
By Andy Sher
Chattanooga Times/ Free Press
May 27, 2003

Washington-As U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn, raced from one House committee to the next last week, the freshman lawmaker voiced exasperation about how things sometimes work in Congress.

"This is what I call a lack of structure," grumbled the former state senator, who represents the state's 4th Congressional District and is one of 11 freshmen House members from Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.

Moments earlier, Rep. Davis was in a House Agriculture Committee hearing where he listened to Bush administration officials discuss U.S. farm export policy. Before he could ask his first question, he had to dash off to cast votes on three bills in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The panel then abruptly adjourned before the votes so members could attend top-secret briefing by CIA and FBI officials.

Such is life in Congress, Rep. Davis and other regional freshmen members are discovering.

Their days are packed with hearings, briefings, meetings with constituents and interest groups, midnight floor votes, and partisan clashes. The end-of-the-week rush to get back to the district creates a dizzying mix, several lawmakers said.

Despite the packed schedules and occasional feeling of being whipsawed by events, freshmen said the job is great.

"Do I like it? Yes I do," said Rep. Davis, 59, whose district includes Marion, Grundy and Sequatchie counties.

Rep. Davis, who serves on the House Science Committee, said he spends much of each weekend in one of 24 Tennessee counties that make up his district.

U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., another freshman, called serving in Congress "the hardest job I've ever enjoyed."

A physician and former state legislator, Rep. Gingrey said being in Congress carries a "pretty steep learning curve. It's almost like being an intern all over again in my medical practice."

Rep. Gingrey, 50, serves on the Armed Services, Education and the Workforce and Science committees.

The freshman recently passed his first bill-the reauthorization of a law that provides grants to shelters for homeless and runaway children.

"That's pretty gratifying to get something passed," said Rep. Gingrey, whose district includes Chattooga and Floyd counties. "It was a very bipartisan issue and not a lot of opposition to it."

Most freshmen House members are no stranger to government. They include five former state legislators, one former congressional chief of staff and a former state judge. And there is U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn. 48, a former congressman who returned to the House this year after leaving in 1994 for an unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid.

In a House Democratic news conference last week, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., introduced Rep. Cooper as a "senior/junior member. This is his first term this round, but he's been a longtime member."

The congressman, who serves on the Armed Services, Budget and Government Reform Committees, said he is delighted to be back and said his previous service, has been an asset.

"I think it helps me serve my constituents back home," Rep. Cooper said.

One House veteran, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said this freshman class is different from his 1994 class where "most people were not politicians."

"The vast majority of them do have legislative experience," Rep. Wamp said of current freshmen.

Rep. Wamp said Rep. Davis-with whom he shares Roane County-has shown interest in Oak Ridge energy issues and has proven to be a "real fast study."

The Oak Ridge area is home to major U.S. Department of Energy installations.

Rep. Cooper, who previously served when Democrats were in control, said he has noticed one unwelcome trend on his return.

"It is frustrating because the House is much more partisan than it used to be," said Rep. Cooper, nothing he worked with Republicans on health legislation during his last stint in Congress.

Rep. Gingrey agreed things are partisan. But it isn't just republicans, he said.

"Obviously, each party wants leadership, and of course it's a winner-take-all. There's no power sharing up here-or very little."

Rep. Wamp said some freshmen who are former state legislators initially may find the House frustrating.

Rep. Davis said that is true.

"The thing I like the least is the inability to participate at the level I was at the state House or the state Senate," he said.