Republican LaHood May Help Obama Break Transportation Gridlock
By John Hughes and Julianna Goldman
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Ray LaHood will join President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet in a key role as the new administration deals with the troubled airline and auto industries and undertakes a public works initiative intended to revive the economy.
LaHood is set to be named by Obama as his choice to become the nation’s next transportation secretary. He would be the second Republican in a top administration post, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is staying on from the Bush administration.
Even with firm Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, Obama will need help across the aisle. Legislation to upgrade the nation’s air-traffic control system has been stuck in Congress for more than a year and the Bush administration has been fighting airlines over flight rights in New York. Meanwhile, Obama is planning to give states an infusion of funds to create jobs by improving the nation’s infrastructure.
“The last place you need ideology is transportation,” said Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association in Washington. “LaHood has a great reputation and track record of working across party lines. It’s very encouraging.”
LaHood, 63, whose district includes the headquarters of Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc., is retiring from Congress after serving seven terms. He will be more than a token Republican in a Democratic administration. He has known Obama for more than a decade and is close to Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman designated by the president-elect as White House chief of staff.
Reputation for Fairness
Former and current colleagues describe LaHood as someone who can build a consensus without sacrificing principle. “When you’re looking to fairness, we’d always look to LaHood,” said John Feehery, who was an adviser to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois.
Naming LaHood “really bears out a campaign pledge” by Obama to strive for bipartisanship, said former Representative Bob Michel of Illinois, who was the top Republican in the House when LaHood worked as his aide. When Michel retired in 1994, LaHood won his seat.
Perhaps the most telling sign of LaHood’s respect from his Republican and Democratic colleagues was the reaction he drew when he presided over the 1998 impeachment proceedings against then-President Bill Clinton.
“More than once the entire House stood up and applauded how he comported himself in the chair,” recalled Democratic Representative Anna Eshoo of California.
Transportation Gridlock
He will need to bring the parties together to break a logjam on legislation to boost Federal Aviation Administration funds for air-traffic upgrades. Last year was the nation’s second-worst for airline delays. The plan is stalled over how much fuel taxes should increase for business-jet users.
“The new secretary will have to sit down with representatives of business aviation and other key players and try to fashion a compromise,” said former Transportation Secretary James Burnley. “He has an opportunity to break the Gordian knot.”
LaHood also will need to settle a dispute between the FAA and controllers, who had a contract imposed on them by President George W. Bush in 2006 and say they are overworked and understaffed. “That’s going to be dealt with pretty early,” said Sam Whitehorn, a consultant and former general counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee.
Road Building
The Transportation Department will have a major role in the infrastructure projects -- including roads and bridges -- that Obama says will be central to pulling the U.S. economy out of a recession.
Those are projects above and beyond those paid for out of the annual $43 billion highway fund, which almost ran out of reserves this year and lacks money to keep up with growing repair needs. Fuel tax collections that supply the fund have dropped as the number of miles driven by motorists have declined for 12 straight months in the slowing economy.
“That’s going to be a huge challenge right off the bat,” said George Hamlin, managing director of transportation consulting firm ACA Associates in Fairfax, Virginia. “There is going to be a far greater number of things to do with the money than there is money available.”
The department also has an impact on the auto industry in its role overseeing auto safety and fuel efficiency standards. Still, the transportation secretary isn’t likely to have a direct role in plans to bail out General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LCC under current proposals, unless the Treasury Department sought to bring in agency experts for consultation.
Bipartisan Retreats
In an attempt to cut through partisan rancor in the late 1990’s, LaHood organized a series of annual retreats -- at resorts a short train or car ride outside of Washington -- to bring together lawmakers and their families.
“People were expected to operate as friends and not as opponents, and the emphasis on party loyalty was absolutely at a minimum,” said former Democratic Representative David Skaggs, who co-chaired the retreats with LaHood.
While emphasizing accord, LaHood also isn’t afraid to let others know when he thinks they’re wrong.
“He doesn’t have any problems speaking up when he disagrees, which is what the president-elect is looking for,” Eshoo said. “He thinks something is a cockamamie idea, he’ll say so.”
To contact the reporter on this story: John Hughes in Washington at jhughes5@bloomberg.netJulianna Goldman in Washington at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net;
Last Updated: December 18, 2008 00:01 EST |
