D.C. Notebook | Murray, Dicks now positioned as defense allies

WASHINGTON — The war in Iraq overshadowed much of the first full week of Congress, but there was plenty of other news relevant to Washington state and its lawmakers last week.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray has been named to the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. She already chairs the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.

That means that Murray and Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, will have dovetailing seats in the House and Senate on key appropriations panels. Dicks is a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Those subcommittees oversee defense spending, including money for the war in Iraq and for defense contracts.

One of Murray's immediate concerns is President Bush's plan to increase troops in Iraq and its effect on the National Guard and Reserves. She said she's heard reports that returning vets aren't getting jobs because employers fear they will be called up again.

The House Armed Services Committee has begun several planned hearings on the war in Iraq. Members include Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, who now chairs the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Lake Stevens.

In the coming days, the panel will review issues concerning the military mission in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rep. Jim McDermott , D-Seattle, was tapped to help pass the House bill to make the government's Medicare program negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. The bill passed Friday 255-170, though the president likely will veto the measure if it passes the Senate.

McDermott gave an impassioned floor speech, saying, "This is our responsibility as the sons and daughters of the 'greatest generation.' They looked out for us; it is our turn to look out for them."

McDermott also was selected Friday to chair the Human Resources Subcommittee, which is part of the Ways and Means Committee.

The subcommittee oversees an array of programs that help the poor, the unemployed and vulnerable children. McDermott said he plans to change the subcommittee's name to the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support.

On the environmental side , President Bush announced he would open up Bristol Bay in Alaska to oil drilling. The area has been closed to energy companies since the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.

Among the opponents to that decision is Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn.

Reichert's mixed record on environmental matters was a critical issue in his re-election campaign. But Reichert is in the lead this time, even though he is not winning.

He urged the president in a letter last month not to allow drilling in the bay because of the possibility of an oil spill.

Reichert complained that Exxon has not behaved with corporate responsibility and asked Bush to get a firm "good faith" commitment from the companies involved that they will clean up any disasters.

Finally, on the tax front , Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, is pushing to get the state sales-tax deduction on federal income tax made permanent. He introduced a bill on the opening day of Congress and spent part of last week trying to shepherd it to the appropriate committee.

The bill isn't on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's agenda for the first 100 hours of Congress, but Baird thinks it will pass in the spring.

Meanwhile, he's taped a segment of "Better Know a District" with Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report." The show hasn't aired yet, but Colbert's lines include: Mount St. Helens — "lava or leave it?"

Alicia Mundy: 202-662-7457 or amundy@seattletimes.com