12/13/00 2:30 p.m.
Chairman Hyde
Transitioning to the next Congress.

By Frank J. Gaffney Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy

ou would never know it from the Washington media and punditry, but there is actually more than one important and hotly contested election in the nation's capital these days. To be sure, the others are unlikely to prove as consequential as the fight for the White House. Still, choices that will shortly be made by top Republicans about who will chair key committees of the House of Representatives may have an important bearing on the direction and success of the policies pursued by the next president.

A case in point is the contest for the chairmanship of the House International Relations Committee (HIRC). In the past, this panel has been influential in shaping successive presidents' foreign-policy priorities and overseeing and/or impeding their realization. In coming years — when myriad overseas challenges, if not actual crises, seem likely to afflict U.S. interests — the nation would be very well-served were the HIRC to become a powerful instrument for articulating sensible policy prescriptions and monitoring executive branch conduct of foreign affairs. Whether and how well this is accomplished will depend critically upon the choice that will shortly be made by House Speaker Dennis Hastert and the other members of the House Republican Steering Committee.

There are three contenders for the HIRC chairmanship: Representatives Henry Hyde of Illinois, Jim Leach of Iowa and Douglas Bereuter of Nebraska. Of the three, only Rep. Hyde is a conservative; only he can be counted upon to make the International Relations Committee a force for core Republican principles and robust policies.

By contrast, Rep. Leach is a Ripon Society Republican, a decidedly liberal lawmaker who has, during his twelve terms in Congress, proven unreliable on many of the GOP's foreign and domestic initiatives. For his part, Rep. Bereuter has been one of the Clinton-Gore administration's most reliable allies on its globalist agenda in general and its appeasement of Communist China in particular.

Such is the strength of Representative Hyde's candidacy, however, that this contest can be determined on the basis of his merits, not his rivals' shortcomings. As Mr. Hyde showed in his skillful management of the Clinton impeachment process, the Illinois Republican has precisely the sort of leadership skills that will be required in the next, closely divided Congress: an ability to command the respect of even those who disagree with him and to forge, wherever possible without compromising conservative principles, bipartisan approaches to national issues.

Chairman Hyde will be aided in this connection by the fact that, during his 26 years of service in the Congress, he has become widely recognized as one of the legislative branch's most experienced and respected leaders on foreign policy, intelligence and national security matters. In addition to being a long-time member of the International Relations Committee, he served for many years and with distinction on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Rep. Hyde is also one of the most trusted and influential figures with his colleagues in the House Republican Caucus, having formerly served as the chairman of its Policy Committee. What is more, as a long-time colleague and close ally of former Representative Dick Cheney, he will command the respect and enjoy the confidence of the Bush-Cheney team. This is particularly important since the new administration is likely to need an "anchor to windward" — a conservative conscience who cannot be ignored, despite the pressures from so-called "moderates" and "centrists" in and out of the executive branch who will be pressing President Bush to perpetuate failed Clinton-Gore security policies.

This may be especially true with respect to the issue of missile defense. Rep. Hyde has been one of the Congress's most indefatigable champions of the need to deploy effective anti-missile protection for the United States and its forces and allies overseas. He understands the impediment that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty represents to the deployment of effective anti-missile protection for the American people and will not be deterred from pushing for the removal of that impediment simply because the Chinese, Russians, or others object.

In addition, Congressman Hyde enjoys the sort of reputation beyond Capitol Hill that will be needed to reinvigorate the authority of the International Relations Committee. He has, for example, been described by the authoritative Almanac of American Politics as "…One of the most respected and intellectually honorable members of the House…. [A legislator who] acts from deep belief more than political calculation." According to National Journal, "[Hyde's] effectiveness may be grounded most of all in his willingness to do his homework and his ability to marshal facts and historical anecdotes in favor of his arguments&#!33;. He may be the most genuine self-generator."

The times demand a man of Henry Hyde's stature, temperament and principles at the helm of the International Relations Committee. The decision largely rests with Speaker Hastert, a fellow member of the Illinois delegation, who under the selection process's weighted voting system will cast seven of the sixteen votes needed to prevail. His choice, and that of the rest of the Steering Committee, with respect to the HIRC chairmanship will tell conservatives much about the character and direction of the House leadership in 107th Congress — and the contribution it intends to make to American security policy in the years ahead.