POLITICS: Dorgan's departure could raise profile for Murray, Cantwell

(01/13/2010)
Mike Soraghan, E&E reporter

The retirement of Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is likely to put Washington state's two senators into the driver's seat on energy, water and American Indian issues in the Senate.

Dorgan's departure potentially opens up the leadership positions on the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and the Indian Affairs Committee, and Washington Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are best poised to take over those slots.

Prognosticators note that Dorgan does not leave until next January and much water will flow through Washington state dams by then. Democrats won't chair any committees if they were to lose the majority in November, though that is generally viewed as unlikely.

Murray is now the chairwoman of the Transportation and HUD Appropriations Subcommittee. But energy and water are crucial issues to a state that was built with federal hydropower. Washington also has a massive federal cleanup under way at the Hanford nuclear site that costs billions of dollars each year.

The energy and water bill also includes plenty of legislative goodies such as Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation projects. As an appropriator, Murray has never been shy about claiming cash for her state, earning her the nickname "Queen of Pork" from Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), himself legendary for home-state appropriations prowess, is senior to Murray on Energy and Water, but he leads the Homeland Security subcommittee and, says a staffer, "He'll stay there." That opens the Energy and Water slot to Murray.

"It's Patty's to say 'no' to," said a Senate aide who works on energy issues.
Murray aides declined to comment, as did Cantwell's.

American Indian tribes would likely be delighted if Cantwell rises to chair the Indian Affairs Committee. Many feel that she owes her initial Senate victory to them.

Tribes rallied in 2000 to help Cantwell defeat former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), a frequent political foe of American Indians and sometimes called "the Indian fighter."

Tribal advocates registered about 10,000 Indians to vote. They put hundreds of thousands of dollars into television ads attacking Gorton's stance on the environment and health issues. They found Indian issues did not motivate the state's voters.

Cantwell won by a mere 2,229 votes, and many members of the tribal community believe their push made the difference in the race.

"My guess is the tribes would be supportive of her," said John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colo.

Cantwell is fifth in seniority among those remaining on the committee, after Sens. Daniel Inoyue (D-Hawaii), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii). But each of them already chairs another committee, except for Johnson, who is expected to take over the Banking Committee after the departure of Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

"[Akaka] always says he'll do what ever leadership asks of him," said Jon Yoshimura, spokesman for Akaka, who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee. "But he seems to enjoy serving on that committee."

Dorgan's retirement would also move Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to No. 2 in seniority on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It also opens up the chairmanship of the Democratic Policy Committee, considered a path to top leadership in the Senate. Potential candidates for the post, which is filled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), include Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) or Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

Dorgan's surprise announcement last week that he will retire at the end of his term was seen as a bad omen for Democratic prospects in the 2010 election, though it still appears unlikely that Republicans could recapture either the House or the Senate. North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven (R) has declared his intention to seek Dorgan's seat.

The North Dakota senator's departure will also mean the loss of a prominent centrist voice on energy issues. Dorgan has called for tighter regulation of energy markets and pushed for the Senate to drop cap and trade from the massive energy bill moving through Congress. The senator has said he does not like creating a new energy market and worries that the climate legislation is unfair to North Dakota's industries such as agriculture and coal mining.