Dicks Hopeful For "Powerful Position"
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) is making phone calls to fellow members of the House Appropriations Committee to line up the necessary votes to take over a defense panel left vacant by the passing of Rep. John Murtha (D-PA).
Dicks and Murtha joined the defense panel the same day in '79, and since Dems took control of the House Dicks served as Murtha's vice-chair. Dicks is the likely choice, based on his seniority, but he's taking the necessary steps to lock down the vote, he said today.
"The committee will meet. They will vote. I'm obviously hoping that I'll be elected. I don't take anything for granted. I'll be on the phone calling my colleagues today asking for their support," Dicks said this morning on KOMO-FM, a Seattle radio station. "I'm the senior guy. I've done this. I've had a lot of experience."
Dicks called Murtha, who died after complications from surgery yesterday, "a true friend." "He was a tireless advocate for the troops. He wanted to make sure the troops had the equipment, the ammunition, the humvees, the MRAPs, whatever they needed," Dicks said.
Dicks said he has support from Appropriations chair David Obey (D-WI), and that he will try and meet with Speaker Nancy Pelosi today. After the committee votes on a new chair, the Democratic Steering Committee will pass its own judgment. The House Dem Caucus has the final say.
If he does get the panel, as expected, Dicks will be in a position to deliver for his home state. Boeing, which employs 72K workers in WA, does billions a year in business with the Pentagon.
"I'll be in a very powerful position to deal with the Pentagon, the White House," Dicks said. The committee chair "puts me in a much more powerful position in the House of Representatives with my colleagues."
Update: An alert reader points out that Boeing employs 72K workers in WA, not hundreds of thousands, as we wrote earlier.
I never in a million years would've had the idea to look at things this way. This will make my morning a lot easier.
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