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POOR RELATIONSHIP OF BUYER, FILNER MAY IMPEDE
WORK
OF HOUSE VETS' COMMITTEE -- Lawmakers from both
parties
have said they find it difficult to attend
committee meetings and
hearings because Filner and Buyer's
interactions are so tense.
Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN)
Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA)
There is no love lost here.
Background on this battle here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/
nf07/nfMAY07/nf050607-1.htm
And here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/
nf07/nfMAY07/nf052607-5.htm
And here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/
nf07/nfMAR07/nf032307-4.htm
Today's story here...
http://thehill.com/leading-
the-news/poor-relationship-of-buyer-
filner-may-impede-work-of-veterans
-committee-2007-06-06.html
Story below:
-------------------------
Poor relationship of Buyer, Filner may impede
work of veterans’ committee
By Jonathan E. Kaplan
House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) and the
senior Republican on the panel, Rep. Steve Buyer (Ind.), despise each
other. Their relationship is so frayed that lawmakers and veterans’
interest groups say it could interfere with the committee’s work.
Lawmakers from both parties have said they find it difficult to attend
committee meetings and hearings because Filner and Buyer’s interactions
are so tense. It has even made it difficult for some Democratic
lawmakers, who might agree with Buyer, to listen to his ideas.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my professional life. It’s just
fierce,” one Democratic lawmaker said. “It’s interfered with the agenda
and dampens the spirit of those in the room.”
“The relationship between the two is very strained, and that comes out
during the meetings and hearings,” the legislative director of Disabled
Veterans of America, Joe Violante, said.
The tension between the two men has built over the years, starting when
they both began serving on the Veterans Affairs panel upon arriving in
Congress in 1992. The relationship became irreparably damaged after
Democrats lost control of
Congress in 1995. The committee became much more partisan and Buyer and
Filner led the charge for their parties’ agendas, according to veterans’
advocates.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chairman from 2001 to 2004, was able to
reduce the level of partisan strife. But after GOP leaders sacked Smith
for defying GOP spending limits and elevated Buyer to chairman, the
partisanship resumed.
Filner has a reputation for outbursts. Last year, he cursed at a
Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman during a news conference on a
stolen VA laptop that contained data on millions of veterans. Filner had
to fight for the chairmanship; the previous chairman, former Rep. Lane
Evans (D-Ill.), backed Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine). Filner reassured the
House Democratic Caucus that he would do more leading and less Molotov
cocktail-throwing; he won a 112-69 vote to become the chairman.
By many accounts, Filner has lived up to his word.
“Filner has stuck to what he’s said,” the legislative director for the
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Dennis Cullinan, said. “There have been any
number of opportunities where he could have lost his temper.”
Buyer, who served as an Army lawyer during the Gulf War, also is known
for being edgy and aggressive. Upon losing the gavel, he immediately
criticized Filner’s leadership, including the speed with which he
organized the committee.
Buyer declined to comment for this story.
With the Democrats back in control, Filner said Buyer is “in denial,”
adding, “He’s not talked to me in a collegial way. He makes demands and
goes to the press.”
The most recent eruption between the two men occurred two weeks ago over
whether to rename a medical center in Albuquerque, N.M., after a Korean
War hero. Raymond G. Murphy, who died in April, won the Medal of Honor
in the Korean War and worked for the Veterans Affairs Department in
Albuquerque for 23 years.
Congress can rename a VA facility if the honoree meets certain
requirements. In this case, New Mexico’s congressional delegation and
Gov. Bill Richardson (D) support the change.
Filner said Buyer has tried to circumvent the regular process to help
Rep. Heather Wilson (N.M.), a vulnerable Republican who survived a stiff
challenge from Democrats in last year’s midterm election.
“It’s a very cynical use of a war hero for political ends. They want to
help Wilson,” Filner said.
On the House floor last month, Buyer challenged Filner to offer a bill
to rename the VA facility on the suspension calendar, where it would
need a two-thirds majority to pass. Filner ignored Buyer, who voiced his
frustration.
“The American public gets to see the abuse that I have to deal with,”
Buyer said on the House floor.
The House GOP Conference criticized Democrats in a press release
entitled “House Dems Won’t Pass Bill Naming Veterans Hospital After
Medal of Honor Recipient.”
Buyer has tried to stymie Filner’s use of procedural measures. Earlier
this year, Buyer attempted to attach a veterans’ funding amendment to a
bill that would affect the Small Business Administration. The Rules
Committee told Buyer his amendment was not germane. He proceeded to try
to rally the veterans’ service organizations to support a motion to
recommit. In the end, Buyer never got his vote and the SBA bill passed.
“It gets testy and uncomfortable for everyone else,” the legislative
director of the American Legion, Steve Robertson, said. “When the day is
done, the negotiations take place behind closed doors. I see they’re
reaching consensus.”
All of the veterans’ pressure groups praised Filner’s management, giving
him credit for the level of oversight and number of bills passed. Still,
all agreed it would be better for veterans if Filner and Buyer could get
along.
“I wish both would bury the hatchet,” Violante said, “and get on with
taking care of veterans.”
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
