By Jen DiMascio
At least five Republicans have expressed interest in the plum House Appropriations Committee seat made available by the move of Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) to the Senate to replace Sen. Trent Lott.
The group includes Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.)–lawmakers who serve states that are key to the current Air Force tanker competition.
Boeing [BA] would house the bulk of its tanker operations in Washington state, while its competitor Northrop Grumman [NOC] and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. plan to base their tanker operations in Alabama. Both companies turned in their final bids for the program last week, and have planned a series of get-out-the-message events for early next week.
Bonner was motivated to seek the open seat because of his background as a chief of staff for former House appropriator Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Ala.), and the desire to spend responsibly–not because of parochial interests.
He added that from his vantage point there is not a connection between membership on the committee and who might win the right to make tankers.
“I can’t believe our friends at [the Department of Defense] would blink an eye in terms of it being helpful or not,” Bonner said.
Beyond tanker work that might be completed in Alabama, Mobile is also home to construction of the Littoral Combat Ship. Nearby Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi is also doing work for the Navy and Coast Guard, Bonner said.
“The southeast is a region of the country with a lot of defense work going on,” Bonner said. “As long as the Air Force and DoD do the process the right way, I look forward to supporting the tanker program.”
He added that the tanker is needed and said he hopes that if Northrop Grumman were to win the contract lawmakers from states where Boeing is located would support the program as he would should Boeing win.
Bonner said Republicans facing tough races are vulnerable to pressure by the Democrats. He said he’s a good candidate for the committee, because his district has been solidly Republican for years.
“I’m prepared to take some tough votes,” Bonner said.
Reichert’s eighth district of Washington is not home to Everett, where Boeing’s tanker operations is based, but it is part of the collection of congressional districts that rings nearby Seattle. His office did not return a request for comment by press time.
Washington and Alabama already are represented on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee by Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) and Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Ala.), but a number of states on the subcommittee are represented by two lawmakers from the same state: Ohio, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida.
Other congressmen vying for the seat have military-heavy districts, although there is no guarantee that Wicker’s replacement on the full committee would fill his spot on the defense subcommittee–considered one of the choicest assignments.
A spokeswoman for Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) confirmed that he is interested in the seat but declined to elaborate. Cole serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. His district houses the Army’s Ft. Sill.
Rep. Henry Brown (R-S.C.), who represents the district in which Force Protection Inc. manufactures Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, is touting his experience on the South Carolina state legislature’s committee that hold the purse strings.
His chief of staff, Chris Berardini, is pressing a regional concern–that a state the size of South Carolina should have one representative on one of the top committees– Appropriations, Energy and Commerce or Ways and Means. Currently, it is not represented on the three committees, he said.
Like Bonner, he emphasized his partisan credentials. “I have donated volunteers, time and money to fellow Republicans in an effort to maintain our majority. I am fortunate enough to have a relatively safe Republican seat and significant financial resources which allow me to continue assisting the Republican cause in the coming election cycle,” Brown said in a letter to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), famous for his crusade against earmarks, is also making a run for the seat. His web site contains a Wall Street Journal editorial backing the idea: “This is like Carrie Nation hitting fraternity row on toga night, but then a little spending temperance is exactly what Republicans need.”
The process of choosing Wicker’s replacement will not truly begin until members return to Capitol Hill next week, said Boehner’s spokesman Kevin Smith.
The successor is expected to be chosen by the end of the month.