Mass. Democrats eye power grab

WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts' all-Democratic congressional team, hamstrung by its minority status in the House, stands to become one of the most powerful delegations on Capitol Hill, ascending to influential positions on a wide range of committees if the Democrats take back control of the House.

The delegation's power on key committees would extend from telecommunications to housing and federal appropriations, which could bring substantial dividends for Massachusetts businesses and consumers. And Massachusetts' Democrats, among the most liberal, would become key players in an ideological sea change that conservatives contend would bring higher taxes and weakened national security.

The Bay Staters have been a liberal government in exile since 1995, when the Republican Party reclaimed control of the chamber and drastically curtailed Democrats' ability to advance their legislation. But with the high seniority of its members, Massachusetts -- a favorite target of conservatives for its left-leaning voter base and gay marriage laws -- stands to rebound to a level of authority not seen since Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill was House speaker and the late Representative J. Joseph Moakley of South Boston headed the powerful Rules Committee.

"They are going to be a force," said state Senate Republican leader Brain Lees of East Longmeadow, adding that greater expectations of the 10-member delegation would rise with its power. With Democrats in power, the delegation would be well positioned to steer federal dollars back home by funding programs -- such as low-income heating assistance -- that are of particular importance to Massachusetts.

"They are going to have to produce. If they don't do that, some of them will have challenges for the first time in a long time," Lees said.

A Democratic takeover is far from assured; President Bush this week chided Democratic leaders for "measuring the drapes" before the first ballot is cast next week. Nevertheless, officials in both parties believe that the Democrats probably will take control of the House since opinion polls show Democrats leading in more than 20 races and they need just 15 seats to win power.

"It's kind of like when the Red Sox went to the World Series. We think we're going to win, but to say there's no hesitation would be a lie," said Representative Michael E. Capuano, a Somerville Democrat heading a special panel to determine Democratic committee structure.

Committee and subcommittee chairmen -- generally decided by seniority -- have tremendous power over what legislation is considered and how it is written.

If the Democrats regain power, Representative Barney Frank of Newton, the senior Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, would become the committee chairman. Representative John Olver of Amherst would be "cardinal" on the powerful Appropriations Committee, leading the subcommittee that handles funding for housing and other programs.

Those leadership positions alone could mean dramatic changes for federal housing assistance in Massachusetts, said Aaron Gornstein, executive director of Citizens' Housing and Planning Organization, a Boston advocacy group.

Under the GOP majority, "what they've had to focus on in the area of housing is really preventing bad proposals from happening, as opposed to being able to initiate new legislation," Gornstein said. "If the Democrats retake the House, it will be a completely different dynamic," in which lawmakers could increase funds for low-income housing and improve public housing, he said.

If the Democrats become the majority party, Representative James P. McGovern of Worcester would be the second-ranking Democrat on the House Rules Committee, a powerful gatekeeper panel that decides which bills and amendments are allowed for votes on the floor.

Representative Edward J. Markey, the dean of the Massachusetts House delegation, would be the third-senior Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and could become chairman of the subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, a panel that has grown increasingly important in the digital age.

Because of careful planning by O'Neill, who was House speaker from 1977 to 1985, and Moakley, who chaired the Rules Committee during the late 1980s to early '90s, the delegation has members on a variety of committees important to the state, said Representative Martin Meehan, who could help steer research and development dollars to Massachusetts as a subcommittee chairman on the House Armed Services Committee.

"We'll have one of the strongest delegations in Congress," Meehan said.

Conservatives, however, fear that the delegation -- home to the most influential liberals in Congress -- would wield disproportionate power, initiating investigations that could embarrass the White House and pushing a liberal agenda.

"There's nothing that scares people more than when you say 'San Francisco liberal' or 'Massachusetts liberal,' " said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Carl Forti. Massachusetts, he said, "is represented by a bunch of liberals" who will "raise our taxes and drive small business into the ground."

Springfield Representative Richard E. Neal -- who would probably get a subcommittee chairmanship on the Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax policy, if the Democrats win -- insisted that Republicans "are trying to scare everybody, and say the Democrats are going to raise your taxes, and that's simply not true."

But the delegation is ready to alter the White House's agenda and monitor its activities.

Representative Bill Delahunt of Quincy, poised to chair a House International Relations subcommittee, believes the United States should lift its decades-long embargo on Cuba. Delahunt is also in touch with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, a fiery leftist who called Bush "the devil" in a United Nations address and who provided cut-rate heating oil to Massachusetts last winter -- a deal Delahunt brokered.

Delahunt could chair the subcommittee on Latin American policy, or he could head the subcommittee on oversight and investigations and would probably launch an inquiry into the Iraq war.

Other Massachusetts lawmakers could be active in oversight and investigative roles: Representative Stephen F. Lynch of Boston could chair a subcommittee on government reform, the House's main oversight committee, and Representative John F. Tierney could take a subcommittee chairmanship on the Government Reform committee.