Remember so long ago whe I spoke out against the coming abuse of Executive Orders by this administration? Remember how everyone said I had no fear? They were all wrong,I was right.
For the sake of the future of our representative form of government all who would rule in the pattern of Clinton must be stopped!
NewsMax.com Exclusive Interview with Rep. Tom DeLay, House Majority Whip – Part II
Dan Frisa
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2000
Dan Frisa sat down with House Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, in his office in the U.S. Capitol building for an extended, wide-ranging one-on-one interview Thursday. Here is the second, and final, report from the exchange.
FRISA: As the House majority whip, it’s your responsibility to line up Republican votes, and count noses, for legislation that is acted upon by the House. What are the dynamics of having, essentially, only a six-vote margin and how does that impact the very nature, ideologically, of the bills which are moved?
DeLAY: It has a tremendous impact on the legislation. With this majority, it is often a challenge getting enough votes on certain issues.
For example, on labor issues there is a group of some thirty Republicans who side with organized labor. As a result, legislation must be crafted with this in mind, which tends to soften the approach the majority of our members would favor.
Another issue is regulatory reform, which also has a group of several dozen on our side that opposes much of the change we’d like to see enacted to put some perspective into the actions taken by federal agencies. Again, the reality of where the votes are has the effect of watering down attempts at meaningful reform.
With a larger majority, more could certainly be accomplished.
FRISA: With the next Congress, one of the reforms enacted on the first day of the 104th Congress, back in 1995, will have its first impact: the House rule limiting the tenure of committee chairmen to three terms. This was a great departure from the seniority rules in place under Democrats for forty years, which concentrated power in members who had served the longest. How do you assess what this change will mean to the operation of the House?
DeLAY: There are a couple of things that will occur. First, some good people with a great deal of institutional knowledge will be leaving the Congress, retiring. Members like Bill Archer of Texas, chairman of the Ways and Means committee, and Tom Bliley of Virginia, chairman of the Commerce committee. They will be missed.
But it will also bring about the intended purpose of the rule we passed – and Dan, I remember your first speech on the House floor was on behalf of the rules changes – which was to keep more of the power in the hands of the members rather than building empires within the committee structure.
FRISA: Has the jockeying already begun by those seeking new chairmanships?
DeLAY: It certainly has, and one of the effects has been more help flowing to our candidates from those positioning themselves for the chairmanships.
FRISA: Can a current chairman of one committee seek the chairmanship of another committee?
DeLAY: Yes and there are a number of those situations in play now. But merely because a member is chairman of one committee and senior member on another doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll move into the chair on his other committee. The dynamics of this process are still in progress.
FRISA: Speaking of changes and movement, should Governor Bush be elected and Republicans be returned to the majority in the House, will some members be inclined to want positions in the new administration?
DeLAY: I’m sure there are some, but I’m hoping that can be kept to a minimum and that a President-elect Bush would first look elsewhere for qualified people in staffing his administration.
FRISA: How would things be different for the Congress with a Bush presidency?
DeLAY: Well, it would make all the difference in the world. He will lead and Republicans and Democrats will follow. As governor of Texas, he set several key priorities, worked on those, and was successful in enacting them. I would think he’d do the same as president. This would provide focus in Washington on the one hand, while allowing the Congress to set other priorities and promote its own initiatives on the other.
With Clinton, he injects the administration into every issue, which causes confusion and chaos due to the lack of a clear agenda. Not to mention that his priorities are in a constant state of flux, depending on what is politically expedient at any given moment. It’s very difficult to make progress when there is no clear direction.
FRISA: What else do you see …
DeLAY: There’s another aspect that’s been troubling: the unprecedented number of new rules and regulations being generated in the closing days of this presidency. It’s sort of like the old nuclear deterrent theory of mutually assured destruction; they keep churning it out in the hopes of burying this country in suffocating, bureaucratic red tape that will take a long, long time to digest and assess. But the negative impact could be felt for years to come….
FRISA: And Executive Orders have been flying out of the Oval Office at an incredible rate, as well as all of these "monuments" grabbing private land.
DeLAY: That’s right. It’s really been an amazing abuse by the president of his executive power, thwarting the Congress and our constitutional prerogative to make law.
FRISA: Do you think a President Bush would rescind some of these more egregious Executive Orders, just as Clinton overrode President Bush’s order requiring that information be posted in the workplace informing union workers of their rights under the Beck decision by the Supreme Court?
DeLAY: I would hope so. If he asked, I’d like to give him a list of orders I believe he should rescind.
FRISA: It will be fascinating to see how things play out, both in this election and next year, with a new Congress and new president.
Thanks very much for giving so much of your time today, especially as you deal with finishing the appropriations process. I know NewsMax readers will appreciate the chance to get the benefit of your insight. Good luck in these final days of the session and with the elections.
DeLAY: Thank you for the opportunity to share some time with my friends at NewsMax.com.
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On the Air: Dan Frisa will appear on WPZZ radio in Indianapolis, Ind., at 4 p.m. and KSLR radio in San Antonio, Texas at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31, "eyada.com" in New York, N.Y., at 10 a.m. on Nov. 1, WDCD radio in Albany, N.Y., at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, the Radio Colorado Network with host Robby Noel at 3 p.m. on Nov. 6, and Liberty Works Radio in Washington, D.C., at 8 p.m. on Nov 7. All times Eastern. Listen while visiting NewsMax.com!
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