National Journal's CongressDaily
Issue date:  October 26, 2001
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TRADE
Business Roundtable To Start $1M Trade Ad Campaign
   Although the bill's prospects are uncertain at best, the
Business Roundtable is preparing a major new effort to pass
presidential trade negotiating authority, shelling out more than
$1 million for advertising targeted at 20 uncommitted House
legislators. The BRT already has television and radio spots in
the can for the new campaign, which will begin this weekend and
extend throughout portions of the next two weeks. Depending on
the timing of a vote, the campaign could be extended, and much
more cash will be made available from the BRT's sizable kitty.
"We will spend what it takes to counter labor's message of
misinformation," said one BRT official. Indeed, the campaign is
in part a direct response to recent advertising by labor groups
opposed to the legislation, and many of the BRT ads will appear
in districts targeted by the unions. Most of the 20 legislators
in the BRT's crosshairs are Democrats. Democratic support for
trade negotiating authority has been anemic so far, and many
business lobbyists are now focusing on Democrats, with the
expectation that the administration will be able to keep GOP
ranks in line.
   But the expenditure still could amount to a gamble. House
Republican leaders, once eager to schedule a vote on the measure,
are now refusing to say when they will put it on the floor. And
labor operatives say they are confident they can defeat it.
Nevertheless, other backers of the bill are ramping up their
efforts. President Bush was set at presstime to promote trade
negotiating authority during an East Room appearance. The
president was planning to describe the trade bill, energy
legislation and the economic stimulus measure as a comprehensive
package designed to bolster the economy. And the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce is also planning to put up a series of radio ads touting
trade negotiating authority - including Spanish language-only
spots - according to a Chamber official.
   Among the 20 legislators targeted by the BRT are Reps. Dennis
Moore, D-Kan.; Tom Sawyer, D-Ohio; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.;
Bob Etheridge, D-N.C.; David Price, D-N.C., and Melissa Hart, R-
Pa. Other districts on the list are in California, Washington and
Indiana. The BRT expects spillover into radio and television
markets not directly targeted to reach portions of another 40
congressional districts. The buys will supplement a print
campaign that is partially underway and which is centered mainly
inside the Beltway. The BRT is also mobilizing its goTRADE
advocacy network - which has a presence in 167 districts - to
visit and phone lawmakers and work the local media. The Chamber's
radio ads will also run mainly in Democratic districts. The
Chamber's Spanish language ads will emphasize that trade
negotiating authority could help secure trade agreements with
countries in Central and Latin America. The Chamber's campaign is
designed to highlight the business community's view that the
legislation is essential for keeping the United States engaged
internationally. - by Keith Koffler
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TRADE
Survey Shows Public Support For Trade Expansion
   Even as Congress rushes to consider legislation renewing
presidential trade negotiating authority, four out of five
Americans say they know little or nothing about the issue,
according to a national poll commissioned by the Association of
Women in International Trade. That poll was conducted among 850
U.S. adults Oct. 7-11 and released today by EPIC/MRA, a Lansing,
Mich.-based polling firm. However, once trade authority, formerly
known as fast track, was explained to the survey respondents, 46
percent said they would support it, while 37 percent said they
opposed it and 17 percent were undecided. The poll has a 3.5
point error margin. The approval rate is exactly the same
proportion of supporters found in a Pew Research Center poll
conducted in September.
   Overall support for trade and economic globalization remains
strong. More than half - 57 percent - of those questioned
nationwide said they approved of free trade agreements, with the
strongest support in Western states - 69 percent, and the
strongest disapproval in the Midwest - 29 percent. As was the
case in past such surveys, free trade support generally grows
with age, income and education. More than half of union members -
54 percent - said they also approved of free trade deals. More
broadly, 48 percent said they think globalization has a positive
impact on society. In September, the Pew poll found 60 percent
thought globalization was a good thing. One sign of the appeal of
anti-globalization sentiments among the young is that disapproval
of free trade agreements was highest - 30 percent - among
generation X, those born after1960. Back-handed support for the
North American Free Trade Agreement continued to grow. Barely
half those questioned - 51 percent - think the United States
should change or pull out of the trade deal with Canada and
Mexico, compared with 63 percent who felt that way in 1998.
   As the economy has turned sour, there has been a slight growth
in protectionist sentiments, but the public seems unwilling to
put their money where their mouth is. One out of two people
questioned thought protecting certain companies from foreign
competition was a good idea. But the amount of money they were
willing to spend out of their family budgets to pay for higher-
priced domestic goods actually declined to only $29.80 per month,
down 38 percent since 1998. - by Bruce Stokes
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APPROPRIATIONS
House Panel Faces Decisions On Defense, Supplemental
   Next week, the House Appropriations Committee - and the GOP
leadership - face a number of pivotal decisions about the size
and scope of the FY02 Defense appropriations bill, as
Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., continues his
determined push to add tens of billions more for the Pentagon and
homeland security, while New York members push just as hard to
secure billions beyond what the president requested for their
state's needs. The panel reported out the $317.5 billion Defense
spending bill Wednesday, but will not file it until next week as
it pulls together a separate title to allocate the second $20
billion of the $40 billion emergency supplemental Congress passed
after Sept. 11. Obey wants to pump that up with more billions for
the war on terrorism - with added funds for the FBI, CIA,
National Security Agency, border patrol, the Customs Service and
public health agencies - even though the president has told
Congress he does not intend to request another supplemental.
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer this afternoon repeated
the administration's position that $40 billion should be
sufficient for this year.
   But at Wednesday's markup, as both Democrats and Republicans
lamented that the bill represented a peacetime defense budget
that came in below the president's budget, Obey said legislators
"have a patriotic duty to decide whether or not we think the
administration's [supplemental] request is really adequate."
House leaders have said that until the president signals he wants
more money, the supplemental will have to be limited to $40
billion. An Obey spokesman said panel Democrats are working with
Republicans to build support for more defense and security
dollars, and that if Obey is unsuccessful in committee, he will
take it to the floor. He added: "There is no tactic or procedure
that will be off the table. We want to move forward in a
bipartisan way, but we are also going to do everything we can to
make sure a lot of those security holes are filled." Another
Democratic aide questioned whether Republicans want to vote
against more money for such GOP favorites as the Pentagon and
national security.
   At the same time the committee is grappling with how much to
provide in the supplemental for security, it will have to address
New York's needs. Of the $40 billion supplemental, New Yorkers
say Bush promised their state $20 billion. And while some, such
as VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman James Walsh, R-
N.Y., are willing to wait until next year to get the full $20
billion, others insist the entire $20 billion be provided now. To
date, the administration says $2.5 billion has been released for
New York's recovery, and another $6.3 billion was included in
Bush's request for the second $20 billion allotment. But several
New York Democrats want far more than $6.3 billion in the
committee's supplemental title. Appropriations member Maurice
Hinchey, D-N.Y., said: "That $20 billion all should be
appropriated this year for New York City and state . and it
should come out of the $40 billion [supplemental]. That was the
basic understanding" between the New York delegation and Bush.
Hinchey also rejected the notion that some of the $20 billion
could be provided in the economic stimulus package. - by Lisa
Caruso
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CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS
Dirksen Opens But Mailroom Closed; Ford To Open Sat.
   The Dirksen Senate Office Building reopened today, although
the building's mailroom - which tested positive for anthrax
exposure - remains closed. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader
Daschle said no final decision had been made on what method
technicians would employ to conduct remediation of the Hart
Senate Office Building, where anthrax was discovered at three
different sites. Daschle has said it could take days or weeks to
open the building, and Hart building staff continue to make
contingency plans to deal with a prolonged dislocation.
   At the White House, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told
reporters that, despite its virulence and sophistication, the
anthrax in a letter received by Daschle's office Oct. 15 "could
be produced by a Ph.D. microbiologist in a sophisticated
laboratory." Fleischer still did not rule out that the substance
was manufactured by a state or some other large-scale operation.
But he indicated the anthrax was not of the most sophisticated
type that could only be produced by a state, significantly
broadening the universe of potential suppliers. Fleischer
emphasized that the new understanding, of which administration
officials became aware Thursday night, sheds no light on who
actually sent the anthrax - since those who sent it and those who
produced it may not be the same. President Bush's suspicion that
Osama bin Laden may have ordered the anthrax sent is unchanged by
the new information, Fleischer said.
   Meanwhile, the Ford and Longworth House office buildings
remain closed, but health officials expect to reopen the Ford
building Saturday after completing anthrax decontamination of the
building's mailroom, according to an advisory from House
leadership posted on a Web site late Thursday. The Longworth
House Office Building is scheduled to remain closed "at least
throughout the weekend," but could reopen as soon as Monday.
Investigators believe that anthrax confirmed in the Ford mailroom
could have spread to Longworth, which has required more extensive
testing. The Cannon, O'Neill [formerly House Annex 1] and Rayburn
House office buildings reopened Thursday after they were closed a
week earlier to allow for environmental sweeps for anthrax.
   In a related development, anthrax was discovered today on a
filter removed from a warehouse that screens mail headed for the
Supreme Court, a court pokeswoman said. The Supreme Court
building was closed to tourists at midday today, and the court's
ventilation system was shut off, in case any material found its
way to the building. Officials indicated that these steps were
simply a precaution. "We have no evidence of any contamination in
the Supreme Court building," itself, a statement from the court
said. - by Geoff Earle, Mark Wegner and Keith Koffler
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DEFENSE
President Signs Anti-Terrorism Legislation Into Law
   President Bush today signed into law anti-terrorism
legislation designed to give his administration new powers to
track and detain potential terrorists while disrupting their
money-laundering operations. "The changes effective today will
help counter a threat not like any other our nation has faced,"
Bush said during an East Room signing ceremony attended by
several lawmakers. Bush asserted the legislation would help law
enforcement officials fight "modern terrorists," noting existing
laws were written in the days of the rotary phone.
   The legislation, while watered down during congressional
debate from the administration's original plan, expands the FBI's
wiretapping and electronic surveillance authority and imposes
stronger penalties for harboring or financing terrorists. It
increases the number of crimes considered terrorist acts and
toughens their punishment, while giving police new anti-terrorism
powers to secretly search people's homes and business records and
to eavesdrop on telephone and e-mail conversations. Bush sought
to reassure those concerned about the new reach granted the
government, saying the legislation "upholds and respects civil
liberties guaranteed by our constitution." - by Keith Koffler
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DEFENSE
Air War Continues, Taliban Kills Opposition Leader
   U.S. jets struck Kabul today, rocking the capital with huge
explosions and blasting a Red Cross compound for the second time
this month, the Associated Press reported, while the Taliban said
they captured and executed a noted opposition figure. Abdul Haq,
a guerrilla leader in the war against the Soviet Union in the
1980s, had gone to Afghanistan with peace proposals on behalf of
former King Mohammad Zaher Shah, an aide to the former monarch
said in Rome. But the Taliban's Bakhtar news agency said he was
"killed by the Taliban" under a religious edict that decrees
death for anyone spying for the United States and Great Britain.
"Commander Haq was on a mission for peace, not for war. He was
not going to fight anyone but to talk to tribal elders to inform
them about the peace initiative of his majesty, the king," said
the king's spokesman.
   During late night bombing of Kabul Thursday, three children
were killed - two from one family living in the northwest area of
the city and a third from the east part of town, officials at the
Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital said. The United States has repeatedly
said it is not targeting civilians. After another night of
sometimes intense bombing, three huge detonations shook Kabul at
midday, raising clouds of smoke from the direction of the airport
and the Khair Khana district to the north. In Moscow, the
Northern Alliance's envoy to Russia told reporters that Russian
military supplies have begun flowing to the opposition. And
Britain today announced it will commit 200 special forces troops
as part of a larger force to include warships and planes.
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POLITICS
Senate Could Be Dealing With Labor-HHS Approps Most Of Next Week
   A spokesman for Senate Majority Whip Reid today said the
Senate could be dealing with the FY02 Labor-HHS appropriations
bill for most of next week. Majority Leader Daschle has said the
FY02 District of Columbia spending bill could come up as well.
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HEALTH
Pharmaceutical Industry Says It Is Ready To Help Anthrax Victims
   Top executives from the U.S. pharmaceutical industry emerged
today from a meeting with HHS Secretary Thompson saying they
stand ready to help in the country's time of need by making
antibiotics available free of charge to anthrax victims. However,
the antibiotics being offered are not yet approved for that use,
so the companies pledged to work with FDA to expedite their
approval for anthrax treatment. Peter Dolan, chairman and CEO of
Bristol-Myers Squibb, said the companies have "no intention to
make any profits on bioterrorism." The companies today pledged to
step up production of a smallpox vaccine and the flu vaccine,
which may help prevent people from getting the flu and mistaking
it for early symptoms of anthrax. Robert Essner, president and
CEO of American Home Products Corp., said there are only about 80
million doses of the flu vaccine available from the three U.S.
manufacturers who produce it, but that there may be more that
could be created from the overrun materials the companies still
have.
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Lawmaker Calls For Possible Wireless License Intervention
   Senate Commerce ranking member John McCain, R-Ariz., wants
Congress to intervene if ongoing negotiations between the federal
government and NextWave - regarding wireless licenses NextWave
won but can no longer pay for - fail to produce a fair price. In
a letter to Senate Majority Leader Daschle and Minority Leader
Lott today, McCain noted published reports that investors in
NextWave, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings since 1998,
would still get $5 billion under a proposed settlement, while the
federal government would get just $11 billion of the estimated
$17 billion the licenses are worth. "I believe that the
government can no longer afford to simply 'pay off' a company
whose only contribution to the American economy has been to
manipulate, for private gain, the results of an improperly
designed auction of a valuable public good," McCain wrote. He
suggested that if negotiations do not produce a better deal that
"Congress must use its oversight authority to ensure that this
matter is resolved upon terms that protect the American people
from being shortchanged once again."
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POLITICS
Grand Jury Issues New Indictment Against Traficant
   A federal grand jury today issued a new indictment against
Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, alleging that he took bribes from a
businessman in exchange for assistance in getting access to local
railroad lines, the Associated Press reported. Traficant had
previously been indicted on 10 counts of bribery, obstructing
justice and tax evasion. The new indictment adds an allegation
that Traficant took bribes from James Sabatine of Canfield, Ohio.
Traficant did not return calls seeking comment, although the
legislator repeatedly has said the charges are a result of
misconduct by the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office. Sabatine
pleaded guilty in August to paying Traficant $2,400 in 1998 for
help in getting access to a rail line near Sabatine's asphalt
plant. Sabatine is the third businessman convicted in the
investigation.
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POLITICS
American Red Cross President Resigns
   American Red Cross President Bernadine Healy, one of the few
physicians to head the nation's largest charity, today announced
her resignation after a little more than two years on the job.
She later told a news conference that she had been forced out as
a result of policy differences with the organization's board, the
Associated Press reported. But Healy - a former director of the
National Institutes of Health who took over the Red Cross post in
September 1999 after Elizabeth Dole resigned to seek the
Republican presidential nomination - had stirred controversy in
the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The
organization raised an unprecedented amount - more than $450
million - in the wake of the attacks; Healy rankled other
charities collecting money for attack victims by refusing to
participate in a coordinated effort led by the New York state
attorney general to keep track of how much money was being given
to each family. And many blood experts argued she was wrong to
encourage blood donations in the wake of Sept. 11 when they were
not needed to treat victims of the terrorist attacks.
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THE FRIDAY BUZZ
   'Not Meeting With Lobbyists Every 15 Minutes.' The Capitol has
been a pretty desolate place since Sept. 11, lacking tourists,
lobbyists and often lawmakers. But this past week, it took on a
new burst of activity as many members of Congress were shut out
of their office buildings due to anthrax sweeps. While many said
they felt upended, sad, out of sorts, and somewhat frustrated,
they appeared to be trying to look on the bright side. "It's not
so bad," said Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., whose flaps with
colleagues over the patients' rights bill have been all but
forgotten in the wake of the attacks. "We're not meeting with
lobbyists every 15 minutes," he said. Although he was quick to
add that meeting with lobbyists is helpful to the legislative
process, he said what many members are probably thinking, "I am
harder to find, and that's OK."
   Of course, being harder to find has its price. Press
secretaries all over Capitol Hill found themselves without paper
or a fax to issue press releases. "Everybody just wants to get in
their offices. We can't function, we can't file," said Senate
Majority Leader Daschle, whose office received an anthrax-tainted
letter earlier this month, setting off the office and building
closings and sending hundreds to be tested for anthrax. Cell
phones, laptops and the ubiquitous hand-held wireless
communication devices known as "Blackberries" many staffers and
members carry became even more important. "This is my office,"
said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., pointing to her cell phone on
her way to the floor. A freshman without the luxury more senior
senators have of a Capitol "hideaway," Stabenow said she is
actually getting more work done because her committees now meet
in the Capitol, where she often presides over the Senate.
   Even those with hideaways found them cramped and ill equipped
for the number of staff trying to use them. One aide to a senior
Senate Democrat was overheard on a cell phone in the Capitol
saying that her new office space would rival the caves of Osama
bin Laden. "We have a much greater appreciation for our offices
now," said House Education and the Workforce ranking member
George Miller, D-Calif., one of the four key lawmakers trying to
hammer out a compromise on the elementary and secondary education
reauthorization bill, despite the office closings and the
cancellation of several meetings. "If they're working under these
conditions, we can't expect them to have the same work
intensity," said the Washington representative for a major U.S.
city. But lobbyists and reporters have ways of finding lawmakers,
and by Thursday, they were wandering the halls of the Capitol in
droves, looking for senators who could not hide. - by April
Fulton
   Defining The 'Mavericks.' For legislators, the label
"maverick" can be highly subjective. Some welcome it; others deem
it disparaging. Some are unpredictable on some issues, reliable
elsewhere. What may define them best is that they march to their
own drummer. During the past month, two votes helped to define
the House's current mavericks. In each case, the House was
largely unified behind the "emergency" measures sought by the
Bush administration as part of its war effort, and crafted
largely by bipartisan majorities with party leaders' support. The
votes were the Sept. 21 passage of the $15 billion rescue of the
commercial airline industry, and this week's approval of the
conference report on the anti-terrorism bill. The House passed
the first bill, 356-54, with 46 Democrats opposed; on this week's
showdown, the vote was 357-66, with 62 Democrats opposed. (In the
Senate, only Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., voted against the
airline bill, and only Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., against the
law enforcement measure.)
   Perhaps the most interesting cluster were the 29 House members
who voted against both bills. They included independent Rep.
Bernard Sanders of Vermont and two Republicans: freshman Rep.
Butch Otter of Idaho and a perennial maverick, Rep. Ron Paul of
Texas. Plus, there were 26 Democrats: Reps. Tammy Baldwin of
Wisconsin, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Minority Whip Bonior,
Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Eva Clayton of North Carolina, William
Coyne of Pennsylvania, Danny Davis of Illinois, Peter DeFazio of
Oregon, Bob Filner of California, Barney Frank of Massachusetts,
Alcee Hastings of Florida, Earl Hilliard of Alabama, Jesse
Jackson Jr. of Illinois, Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio, Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio, Jim McDermott of Washington, George Miller of
California, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Bobby Rush and Jan
Schakowsky of Illinois, Bobby Scott of Virginia, Fortney (Pete)
Stark of California, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, John Tierney
of Massachusetts, Peter Visclosky of Indiana, and Lynn Woolsey of
California.
   What is striking about the Democrats is that there is no
obvious common thread - by seniority, by gender or by race. If
anything, the group has a slight imbalance in the Midwest. And it
appears to have a disproportionate share of legislators who
supported Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California over Rep. Steny Hoyer
of Maryland in the contest for minority whip. In that Oct. 10
vote, Pelosi got 55 percent of the total; based on claims from
the two camps at the time, 76 percent of the recent legislative
mavericks also backed Pelosi. - by Richard E. Cohen
   Omnipresent Bob. When Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, assumed the
chairmanship of the House Administration Committee early this
year, the issues of election and campaign finance reform promised
him a platform larger than assigning parking spaces. Last month's
terrorist strikes have only heightened his visibility, as his
panel is charged with overseeing the safety of the House, its
members and its buildings. This week, Ney has been trailed by an
entourage of staff, reporters and fellow legislators on and off
the House floor, the Capitol East Front stairs and temporary
offices at GAO. When a reporter suggested Ney be named "mayor,"
House Chief Deputy Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., balked.
"Mayor? . Governor . Governor of Capitol Hill." Ney appears to
relish the job, but terrorism has only marginally changed his
routine. In the Speaker's Lobby, Ney still alternates between
cell phone calls and media inquiries, while occasionally bumming
a cigarette off Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio. Asked if he enjoys his
post, Ney smiled, but demurred, saying: "I'm still here. We have
a challenge House Administration has never had before." - by Mark
Wegner
   Stealth Attack? Some veteran House Republican staffers are
privately suggesting the current conventional wisdom - that the
GOP leadership cannot bring up renewal of trade negotiating
authority because it lacks the votes - is a ruse. They think the
leadership is simply biding its time, and speculate the
leadership plans to call for a vote late some Thursday afternoon,
with no debate and no amendments. Further, despite a strategy
almost certain to inflame liberal Democrats, these staff members
predict the legislation would then pass by a comfortable
majority. At the moment, the bill does not appear on next week's
tentative House agenda. - by Bruce Stokes
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THE FINAL WORD
   "The hugs really don't transfer spores. You can do that all
day long, and remain spore-free."
   - Majority Leader Daschle, who Thursday clarified his earlier
statement that members of his staff might have spread anthrax by
hugging each other after the emotional day last week when they
were quarantined. One reporter joked that he heard Senate
Minority Leader Lott - who, unlike Daschle, failed to receive a
presidential hug at a public event last month - was spreading the
rumor about the dangers of hugging.
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