A behind the scenes report from Washington D.C.

Editor’s note: At least once a month, David Olive (see his bio below) will provide readers of The City Wire a glimpse into the business of the Beltway, the wackiness of Washington and/or the grinding gears of government. It will be a perspective found only at The City Wire. Enjoy.

Behind the Scenes
 
Three out of every four years this is a time when Washington D.C. begins to slow down. People start thinking about holiday parties and businesses complete their budgeting for the coming year. However, with the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama looming over a city that is expecting more than 3 million people to show up Jan. 20 to watch the historic event; with the country’s financial system on the brink of an abyss; with a new Congress anxious to spend money to stimulate the flagging economy; and with old political names being bandied about for new political positions, it is a very different atmosphere inside the Beltway these days.
 
For those few political animals left after a way-too-long campaign season, some of this may be familiar territory. But for the rest of you who don’t live for the next update of realclearpolitics.com, I hope to provide some occasional insight into what is going on behind the scenes that will affect the Fort Smith region, and in particular, focus on those things that may not be found in the daily newspapers or even on the ubiquitous cable and network news analysis programs.
 
Transition, Executive Branch
 
The Obama transition teams got into full swing with meetings with the outgoing administration and career officials. Most of these meetings are focused on learning what is critical for the operation of the government for the first 30 to 45 days.

Most of the news coverage is on who the Cabinet officers will be, but the transition teams are more interested in what program and policy decisions will have to be made before those Cabinet officials can get through the Senate confirmation process. They will look at regulations to see what was enacted at the last minute by the Bush administration and whether any of those regulations should be rescinded. They will look at pending procurements and see if they should go forward or should be delayed. And they will look closely at what changes they will want to make in the President’s budget proposal which will go to Congress in February, shortly after the State of the Union. Finally, they also will look at continuity plans in the event that Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s prediction about “bad guys” testing the new President comes true.
 
What does this mean for Arkansas?

First, several Arkansans, including James Lee Witt, are playing a key role in the transition effort. While their input may not be seen publicly, the influence they have will extend many months into the new administration.

If U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, becomes the Secretary of State, a whole lot about the funding of the Clinton Library and the associated foundation will be made public – and it will be the subject of a lot of political commentary from the political pundits.

The biggest issue will be whether the transition teams can find a way to stem the tide of bad economic news while waiting on the inauguration to occur. The planned “go slow” approach which Obama had hoped to follow, may not work if the world markets don’t cooperate – and this could have very significant impacts on global supply chains, thereby affecting Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods, Arkansas Best, USA Truck and other major area employers.
 
Transition on the Hill
 
While new members went through orientation last week, and the Republicans were trying to salvage the Georgia Senate race and remain relevant as a political party, there were a number of intra-party elections, one of which may have significant repercussions. I am referring to the successful challenge that U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. made to oust the dean of the House of Representatives, John Dingell, D-Mich., from his long held position as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Waxman got the Democratic caucus to overlook Dingell’s seniority and remove him from the committee chair. Waxman had the backing of the more liberal members of the House, while Dingell was viewed as being the more moderate of the two.

Hill observers have not yet begun to analyze the full impacts of this shift. Waxman is known for his aggressive oversight hearings – and the energy community is in for some more rough and tumble attention with environmental protections getting a stronger advocate than has been the case. For those in western Arkansas who are tied to the natural gas industry, it will be an interesting time — like in the old Chinese curse type of “interesting time.”
 
Of course, the big lesson of the week was not to come to Washington in a very large, photogenic private jet and ask for a bailout from the taxpayers. Congress had to walk a tightrope in postponing its assistance to the automakers, because union workers are still the backbone of Democratic politics these days. Any arguments that automakers are inefficient and cannot compete will inevitably lead to an examination of union contracts and pension guarantees. Lots of union workers will be affected — and given their political clout, it will be interesting to see how a Democrat-led Congress deals with the industry request for assistance. One thing is for certain — not a lot of governors these days are actively courting automobile plants for their communities.
 
Interstate 49 Support?

The President-elect has said one of his first priorities will be to enact an economic stimulus package. Early talk has focused on creating jobs through the rebuilding of critical infrastructure. No one knows what this stimulus package will look like, or how it will be paid for without “incurring the honor” of a trillion dollar deficit, but road, bridge and water projects are all being mentioned as distinct possibilities.

Unfortunately, western Arkansas is not in a very good position to assert its needs list. As The City Wire editor Michael Tilley previously wrote about, the coalition effort to build I-49 has been put on mothballs. Community infighting and regional battles with Northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma have not yet been resolved — so it is highly unlikely that western Arkansas is going to see much of the money from the stimulus package, especially if politics plays a role in selection of new projects.

However, if efforts to enact a significant new fuel tax are successful (being actively discussed as a means of funding new road construction) it could have a serious impact on the trucking/transportation sector that is vital to the economic interests of western Arkansas. Stay tuned as this will be one of the first actions Congress takes when it convenes in January.
 
Family Matters
 
Finally, the issue dejure is where the Obama family will go to church. Only in Washington D.C. would churches launch full fledged public relations campaigns to get the privilege of inconveniencing regular parishioners with the security burdens which a President and his family require whenever they venture out into the public. Guest columns are being written touting the virtues (sorry for the pun) of one church over another. Should it be a traditional African-American congregation in less affluent parts of DC, or should the Obama’s choose the stately Washington National Cathedral in the upper Northwest section where the land prices are significantly higher? Second only to the selection of a pet dog for the Obama girls, this decision will send signals that will reverberate throughout the community for about three months — if that long. But in Washington that can be an eternity … or seem like it.
 
Until next time …

David Olive is the founder of Catalyst Partners, LLC (formerly Olive Edwards & Cooper) a Washington D.C.-based government relations and public affairs firm. He previously served as chief of staff for then-U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., in the 106th Congress. Olive was director of the Donrey Media Group’s legal division. In July, 2005, The Hill newspaper named Olive one of the top six Homeland Security lobbyists in Washington D.C. He also serves as the moderator of the Washington Homeland Security Roundtable Inc. a non-profit organization comprised of private sector companies that seek to learn about policy, procedures and procurements affecting the federal homeland security marketplace.