Fresh faces, less clout for Pa. in Congress
State to have at least 7 new House members
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania was a powerhouse.
Its Washington delegation included a senator whose control of the judiciary committee landed him on Time’s top-10 list of influential lawmakers, another who was the Senate’s third-ranking Republican, a congressman with an iron grip on transportation spending, and the top Democrat on the subcommittee that controlled military spending.
It has been almost two decades since the state had that kind of clout on Capitol Hill — Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter; Sen. Rick Santorum; Rep. Bud Shuster, DBlair; and Rep. John Murtha, DJohnstown.
Since then, its potency has dwindled. The delegation’s last standing committee chairman — Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg — is retiring at the end of the year, as is Philadelphia Democrat Bob Brady, the state’s second-longest-serving member.
“We’re not seeing these powerhouses that we’re used to
seeing in the Pennsylvania delegation. That hurts us a little bit … when we need to make sure Pennsylvania is getting what it needs out of pieces of legislation,” said Kristen Coopie, professor of political science at Duquesne University. “The one thing about having entrenched incumbents is they know what they’re doing. They have experience, they have legislative wherewithal, and they know the sausage-making process.”
A combination of retirements and resignations means Pennsylvania will have at least seven new House members in January, and even more if any of the 11 incumbents lose reelection. That means at least a third of Pennsylvania’s representatives will have never served before in Washington, never introduced a bill, never delivered a floor speech, never navigated the intricate corridors of Capitol Hill, and never walked the gauntlet of reporters on their way to cast a vote.
No other state has more open seats, and Pennsylvania hasn’t had as many since 1976.
On the Senate side, Pennsylvania has more longevity.
Republican Pat Toomey, who ranks 55th in seniority, will move up at least a few notches as three more-experienced senators retire and others face re-election. Mr. Toomey, who is not up for re-election this cycle, is chairman of two subcommittees.
Democrat Bob Casey, who is being challenged by Republican Congressman Lou Barletta of Hazleton, is 34th in seniority. He is the ranking Democrat on the Special Committee on Aging as well as on two standing subcommittees.
The turnover in the House translates into fresher ideas coming out of the delegation but less power and influence to enact them.
“You play the hand that you’re dealt. I can’t spend time worrying about what I can’t change,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, an eight-term congressman who is the delegation’s longest-serving member. “Pennsylvania is going to be fine.”
Mr. Doyle, who is running unopposed, said he is less focused on Pennsylvania losing power than on the prospects of his caucus gaining the majority if it can pick up 23 seats across the country. Pennsylvania’s seven open seats are key to making that happen.
“You can sit on an important committee, but if you’re there as a minority member there’s only so much you can do,” Mr. Doyle said.
Political historians say seniority is vital to the power structure in Washington, but back in the voting booths it’s much less consequential.
“Voters want people in office that will represent their values and fight for their needs, and I don’t think seniority has a lot to do with it,” said Michael J. Birkner, a Gettysburg College professor who studies political history.
“The more a district is in play, the more candidates have to be alert to the independent-minded voter who is interested in knowing you’re not going to just knee-jerk decisions.”
Increasing polarization and the disappearance of earmarks have combined to make voters more interested in ideology than seniority, said Jim Broussard, director of the Center for Political History at Lebanon Valley College.
“If you’re looking for your congressman to bring back goodies to the state, that’s harder if you have 18 people with no power, but if you’re electing them because they vote the way you like, then you’ll be a happy voter,” Mr. Broussard said.
Freshman faces in Congress offer new opportunities for activists to indoctrinate.
“Having the opportunity to talk to new people about issues and new ways to build coalitions presents a lot of opportunities for moving good policy forward,” said Beth Anne Mumford, Americans for Prosperity’s Pennsylvania director. “Somebody new gives us a chance to get a new issue in front of somebody that maybe hasn’t thought about it before.”
Relative inexperience hasn’t stopped the delegation from having influence before, said Mr. Doyle and Rep. Glenn Thompson of Bellefonte — who, entering his fifth term, verges on being the state’s Republican dean.
His 10 years in office would seem like a blink to the late Democrat John Murtha, whose 36 years made him the longest-serving member in Pennsylvania history, or to Alaska Republican Don Young, who is currently serving his 47th year in Congress.
“Members of the Pennsylvania delegation have had fingerprints on significant pieces of legislation” including tax reform, spending bills and veterans’ issues, Mr. Thompson said.
One reason for that is that delegation members are collegial with each other and — although they differ on many issues — are willing to come together on issues that directly affect the state, he said.
It has always been that way, said Mr. Santorum, who was chairman of the Senate Republican Conference in Pennsylvania’s heyday.
“We all wanted to ensure the good of the state was represented in legislation,” he said.
“One of the things we really worked on was making sure folks from both sides of the aisle were represented on key committees and took responsibility for things specifically important to the state. … We made sure we covered the gamut.”
Plum committee assignments rarely go to freshmen, and chairmanships are traditionally held by the most senior members like Mr. Shuster, who was elected in 2001, and the retiring Philadelphian, Mr. Brady, who was chairman of the Committee on Administration when Democrats were in control.
“You never want to lose a chair on a committee. There’s no question about that,” Mr. Doyle said. “There was a time when we had a lot of senior members, but everything evolves.”
Pennsylvania’s redistricting prompted some of the change when, for example, new boundaries landed Rep. Ryan Costello, RChester, in what he saw as an unwinnable district. His retirement leaves two political newcomers vying for the open seat.
The redistricting is partly to blame for the number of open seats in Pennsylvania, said U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who charged that the changes were made by a partisan state supreme court.
Democrats see it differently. Mr. Doyle said the court corrected partisan Republican gerrymandering that resulted in Democrats winning only five of 18 seats in the last election despite having a strong voter registration advantage.
“We finally got a fair map and I think we’re going to pick up some seats,” Mr. Doyle said, and not just the open ones. Democratic newcomers like Ron DiNicola have a chance to unseat veterans like four-term incumbent Mike Kelly from Butler.
“The times are different, too. You don’t have members that are there 30 or 40 years, and you have an electorate that quite frankly doesn’t want members there 40 years. Voters want change,” Mr. Doyle said.
Besides, he said, new members represent opportunity, especially when the candidates are people he described as quality Democrats who he hopes will be elected next month.
“These are accomplished people that were inclined to work in their professions, but they saw a situation going on in the country that made them say, ‘I can’t sit on the sidelines anymore,’” Mr. Doyle said. “We’re getting a different type of freshman in the Pennsylvania delegation. They are all very, very accomplished in their own right.”
Mr. Thompson feels the same about the Republican slate stocked with what he describes as quality candidates who have strong resumes and views that starkly contrast with those of their opponents. He said they will mesh well with the more experienced members of the delegation and will strengthen the state’s caucus once they learn the ropes.
“It takes time. Orientation week is like drinking from a fire hose, and for every new member coming in it’s the same experience,” Mr. Thompson said.
“There’s an advantage to having someone certainly with experience, but at the same time in an open seat you’re bringing in folks that have an obvious fresh perspective and an eagerness to serve, so I don’t think it’s a disadvantage,” he said.
Pennsylvania’s freshmen will have a lot of company at orientation. Nationwide there hasn’t been this many open seats since 1992.
“This birth of new blood could shake up the establishment,” Ms. Coopie said, but if they’re expecting to create an earthquake they may have to settle for a tremor, at least in their first term.
“They’re going to have to dampen down their expectations once they get into office. They ran their campaigns on a slew of ideas that got them into office, but now they’re working with 434 other members of Congress and they have to work within the structure of the committee system,” she said.
The delegation’s senior lawmakers aren’t worried. They know that power is cyclical and that now is the time to work for the future by placing members on key committees where they can eventually have more influence.
“That’s the way it goes. Congress is not a static entity, and that’s the way the founders intended it to be,” Mr. Thompson said.
“It takes time. I think we will be powerful again.”