WASHINGTON - There won't be many New England accents when some 300 Republican lawmakers gather in the new Congress this January. Only four members from the region will be part of the GOP caucus that will seek to shape the nation's agenda.
New England's minimal presence - it mostly went Democratic in Tuesday's election amid a Republican wave nationally - has raised concerns that the region's six states will be left grasping for influence on an array of vital issues.
Continue reading below
'As a very practical matter, issues that are uniquely New England are not going to rise to the top of the pile the same way as issues that are Southern, Midwestern, or Texas,' said Judd Gregg, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire.
Republicans gained one House seat in both New Hampshire and Maine, joining two Republican senators and doubling the region's GOP membership in Congress. But the New England lawmakers are still mostly Democratic, and the lack of a strong Republican presence could be felt more profoundly because Republicans won the Senate and expanded their grasp on the House.
New Hampshire's Jeanne Shaheen was a rare Democrat in the Senate to survive a strong Republican challenge, and Republicans failed to capture seemingly winnable House seats in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Four of the New England states - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont - sent no Republicans to Congress.
Even the change to a Republican governor in Massachusetts could be a negative for the region's clout. Governor Deval Patrick's close relationship with President Obama left him a phone call away from the White House.
For example, Patrick spoke several times with Obama over the last two years to help secure $35 million in disaster relief for the region's fishing industry, according to Richard Sullivan, Patrick's chief of staff.
Patrick will be replaced by Charlie Baker, a moderate Republican who has distanced himself from the national GOP.
Some of the region's Democrats will lose chairmanships and other perks of majority power. Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, the Judiciary Committee chairman who led debate over gun control and reviews President Obama's court nominees, will pass the gavel to Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
One of the most intriguing impacts of the power shift revolves around Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat. With Democrats facing a power vacuum, she may feel freer to shift more to the left and become a leading voice of the opposition. That could further enhance her national profile although she has said she has won't run for the White House in 2016.
In the short term, at least, being an even stronger national voice for Democrats could make it even more difficult for Warren to compromise with Republicans and win passage of legislation beneficial to the region. Warren declined an interview request.
The region's loss in power has been years in the making, with population shifts shrinking the size of delegations and events such as the death of senior lawmaker Edward M. Kennedy or John F. Kerry, another senior lawmaker, resigning to become secretary of state.
'The most important thing is setting the agenda,' said Representative Michael Capuano, a Somerville Democrat. 'We're playing defense again for another couple of years. We'll see how that works out. But if both parties are led by people who want to compromise, then we'll gets things done.'
Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said this week that he did some of his most important work while serving in the House minority after Newt Gingrich swept into power, following the Republican takeover of 1994. His signature law, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, was passed while he was in the minority, working with his Republican counterpart.
Part of his success came because the issue was not seen as especially ideological, unlike the issue of climate change, another Markey priority.
'If people are willing to work together, I think there's a real reason that finally the gridlock can end,' Markey said.
The shift in power will put an added burden on the New England's quartet of Republicans to advocate for the region and could serve the role of bridge-builders if the two parties seek compromise.
Republicans captured one congressional seat each in New Hampshire, where Frank Guinta reclaimed his old seat, and in Maine, where Bruce Poliquin was elected to a seat Democrats held for 20 years. Senators Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire, and Susan Collins, of Maine, are the only Republicans in the Senate from New England.
Collins will become the most senior woman in the majority party and is in line to lead a key subcommittee that controls highway and housing funding. Ayotte, a rising star in her party elected in 2010, will take control of a subcommittee that signs off on military base closings, currently led by Shaheen, which she could use to protect the Portsmouth Naval Yard and other posts.
David Tamasi, a Republican lobbyist at Rasky Baerlein, a Boston-based firm, said the reputations of Collins and Ayotte would now be crucial to the region's interests, especially their ability to balance national and local concerns 'so people don't just view them as narrow parochial issues.'
Ayotte said she meets regularly with Massachusetts companies that employ New Hampshire residents, including Raytheon, the defense contractor. She said she also has an interest in protecting Hanscom Air Force Base, which also employs her constituents.
'Even if there are only two of us in the Senate,' Ayotte said, referring to herself and Collins, 'I think both of us will be very strong, vocal on behalf of the states and therefore the region.'
Collins said Maine would be her first priority, but that many important issues cut across the region.
For example, she noted that she has recently secured funding to rebuild bridges that transport workers among the states.
'It's obviously more fun to be in the majority because you can set the agenda,' she said. 'But I'm also cognizant of the fact that we don't have 60 votes in the Senate on the Republican side, and one of my strengths is to be able to put together coalitions of Republicans and Democrats.'
Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, has tried to build a reputation for bridging the parties. He announced this week that he would continue to caucus with Democrats, rebuffing GOP overtures. He argued that having Collins in the Republican majority and him aligning with the President's party would enhance the state's clout. (Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is also an independent who caucuses with Democrats.)
'I think it is in Maine's interest to have a Senator in each camp,' King told reporters this week.
The outlook of Representative James McGovern, a Democrat from Worcester, meanwhile, provides a dose of political reality. While McGovern said he could find Republican allies on questions of military intervention, jobs bills, and even immigration, he also plans to retain his role as one of the most outspoken liberals in Congress.
'On the issues, we still represent where the mainstream of America is,' said McGovern. 'I don't think this is the time to roll over and surrender. This is a time to stand up for our principles.'
Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahbierman.
Posted by Unknown on Friday, November 7, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
0 comments "Congressional power shift lowers New England's clout"
Post a Comment