Monday, March 13, 2000 Wisconsin Reps are waiting in the wings to chair committees By Melanie Fonder For The News-Chronicle WASHINGTON - If the Republican Party keeps control of the U.S. House in November, some members of the Wisconsin delegation are slated to wield significantly more power in their committee roles. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, is next in line to be chairman of the Judiciary Committee currently chaired by Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill. Rep. Thomas Petri, R-Fond du Lac, is slated to take control of the Education and the Workforce Committee currently chaired by Rep. William Goodling, R-Pa. The two already serve in visible roles, with Sensenbrenner as the current chair of the Science Committee and Petri leading the Ground Transportation Subcommittee. But those roles pale in comparison to the Judiciary Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee. The switch is not as simple as it sounds. When Republicans were swept into the House majority in 1994, they passed a series of changes that included term limits for committee chairmen, who could serve a maximum of three consecutive terms. Next January would be the first major switch under those terms, and, as a result, many committee chairmen have decided to retire rather than lose their power. Last week, Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley, R-Va., became the fourth chairman to announce his retirement. He joins Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas, Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, and Goodling in retiring. Hyde is running for office again, and that could mean trouble for Sensenbrenner. In recent weeks, Hyde has toyed with the idea of asking for a waiver on the term limit to keep control of the committee. Aside from the diminished roles Petri and Sensenbrenner face as ranking minority members of the committees if Republicans don't keep the House, Sensenbrenner faces an additional difficulty if Hyde does decide to seek the waiver. LOBBYING ONLINE Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, is expected to introduce legislation in the next few weeks based on a similar measure passed in the Wisconsin Assembly, which requires lobbying information to be posted on the World Wide Web. Chris Tuttle, Green's spokesman, said the House had a system that was outdated and Green's measure was meant to enforce a law already on the books. To receive lobbying information now, an interested citizen must send a letter to the clerk of the House requesting specific documents or examine the records in person. With Green's measure, anyone could get access information on the Web about lobbying firms and their effect on legislation, he said. Tuttle said Green is seeking cosponsors and would introduce the bill in the House after he secured enough support for it. PRIMARY BLUES With the prospect of an exciting primary season shattered after Super Tuesday, voter turnout is expected to drop sharply in states, including Wisconsin, who haven't yet held their primary contests. The expected showdown between Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore may turn off many of the voters who flocked to the primaries while Arizona Sen. John McCain was an active challenger. Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an ardent McCain supporter, predicted the winner in November would be whoever wins over the McCain followers first. "There's a new movement in the Republican Party," Graham said. "John has started a movement within our party. If there's not a marriage of the McCain dynamics to the Bush campaign, we're in trouble." Republicans will have a hard time winning the White House, Graham said, unless the ticket is Bush-McCain. "We've got that independent voter to attract and we've got Pat Buchanan looking over our shoulder. This is going to be an interesting dance to watch," Graham said. Fonder is a staff writer for The Hill, a Washington-based weekly newspaper that covers Congress. You can e-mail her with comments about this weekly column at melfonder@yahoo.com.