By Emelie Rutherford
If Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) becomes the next chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee (HAC-D), he would advocate vigorously for Boeing [BA] and exhibit a shrewdness on intelligence matters, and likely be less active in doling out earmarks than Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) was, observers predicted.
Murtha, 77, died Monday from complications following gallbladder surgery. Congressional aides said Dicks, the next-senior Democrat on the HAC-D and full House Appropriations Committee (HAC), is all but assured to succeed Murtha as chairman. To make it official, Democrats on HAC and House Democratic Caucus must agree.
Dicks’ spokesman George Behan said “while there is not much doubt in either case, it is not something that will be official until at least the end of the month when a meeting can be arranged.” Most congressional activity has been canceled this week because of snowstorms.
Dicks, 69, hails from Bremerton, Wash. A congressman for 32 yeas, he is an unabashed supporter of Boeing when it pursues contracts for Pentagon programs such as the Air Force’s aerial-refueling tanker. Analysts don’t see that changing.
“They say that becoming chairman sometimes moderates the behavior of members; I doubt that will be the case with Mr. Dicks, because he is a passionate supporter of military causes and doesn’t like losing,” said Loren Thompson, the chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. “He will continue his practice of listening to all points of view, but he will not relax or rethink his convictions, because that is not in his nature. When Norm believes strongly in something, he is an unstoppable force.”
Dicks previously served on the House Intelligence Committee and currently sits on the House Appropriations Select Intelligence Oversight Panel. Murtha often turned to Dicks, his vice chairman, for counsel on intelligence-related matters, a defense lobbyist noted.
“He’s very knowledgeable on intelligence programs and issues,” the lobbyist said.
Some observers predict that, beyond his advocacy for Boeing, Dicks will differ little from Murtha in terms of his approach to defense spending and weapon systems.
However, Thompson noted Dicks is “from a different generation and a different regional political culture” than was Murtha, a master of pork-barrel spending and defense earmarking.
“While (Dicks) will continue to back Boeing strongly in the tanker competition, he will be less inclined to earmark or funnel money to home-state interests,” Thompson said. “Unlike in the case of Mr. Murtha, Dicks knows that his district will benefit if the Pentagon adequately funds its stated military priorities.”
That’s because Murtha worked hard to build up an economically struggling area of Pennsylvania, while Dicks’ district includes a major plant for one of the nation’s top defense contractors, he added. Dicks, still, does use earmarks to benefit his district.
Dicks, unlike Murtha, does not have any major controversies hanging over his head, observers noted.
While he and other HAC-D members were investigated last year by the Office of Congressional Ethics over ties between a lobbying group run by a former staffer and defense earmarks, no action was taken against Dicks.
Dicks “has been a good reliable member and is well respected in the Democratic Party, can work effectively across the aisle, and the Pentagon likes him too,” the lobbyist said. “I would be shocked if they skipped over Norm to give it to someone else.”