U.S. CONGRESS Ryan faces hectic start

Providing health benefits for displaced steel workers is one of his top priorities.
By DAVID ENRICH
STATES NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- A day after clinching a seat in Congress, U.S. Rep.-elect Timothy J. Ryan, D-Niles, is getting ready to plan a new office and learn the ropes in the U.S. House.
The task could be complicated because Ryan continues to serve in the Ohio state Senate, which is in session next week. Ryan says he will miss most of the orientation for new members of Congress, which runs from next Tuesday through Thursday. Ryan will arrive in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 14 -- during the day if the Ohio Senate ends next week's session Wednesday or during the night if the Ohio Senate holds session Thursday.
The three-day orientation process is "incredibly important" for new members, said Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland of Lucasville, who was overwhelmingly elected Tuesday to his fifth term in Congress.
"I just think that the decisions that a new member makes at the beginning of this process set the tone for their entire representation during the term and perhaps, in a larger sense, their representation for years to come," he said. "It's important that you surround yourself with well-motivated people of great integrity and people of maturity and experience."
Ryan said he will attend makeup sessions next weekend. The sessions are put together for incoming freshmen who miss orientation. Ryan will remain in Washington until Nov. 18, the day before the Ohio Senate is to meet again.
Important process
Orientation helps new lawmakers get acclimated to their surroundings, Strickland and other experts said, and it is an unparalleled opportunity for freshmen to meet their colleagues, start jockeying for committee seats and begin hiring a staff.
It will feature briefings from experts and fellow lawmakers on how to set up offices, allocate office budgets and handle other administrative issues, said a spokesman for Rep. Bob Ney, the Ohio Republican who chairs the Committee on House Administration and is organizing this year's orientation.
Ryan was one of about 50 freshman members of Congress elected Tuesday, and most are expected to attend the full orientation.
There are a number of important issues, including tort reform, that need to be addressed in the Ohio Senate during the next two weeks, and Ryan said it is important that he is there to represent his constituents.
Ryan will face a hectic schedule when he returns to Washington on Nov. 21. That day, the House will have a lottery to select offices for the incoming members. Offices are assigned on the basis of seniority, with the largest ones with the best locations going to the most senior lawmakers.
"It's like those old vaudeville shows, where someone races across the stage with 10 plates spinning," said Brad Fitch, deputy director of the Congressional Management Foundation. "Members of Congress are going to arrive here Tuesday, and someone's going to start those plates spinning for them."
Securing a seat
After he's sworn in Jan. 3, Ryan said one of his top priorities would be to secure a seat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. held a seat on that committee for several years.
"There's a lot of transportation needs here in Northeast Ohio, a lot of roads and bridges that need repair and a few roads that need to be connected, and an airport that has some infrastructure needs," Ryan said.
Fitch, a Capitol Hill veteran who helped compile a handbook for new lawmakers, said that it is often easier said than done for a freshman in the minority party to get appointed to the committee of his choice.
"There's a great jockeying for committee assignments every session," Fitch said. "To get on an exclusive committee, you have to work it like a campaign. ... There's a real courtship that goes on."
Ryan said that his two top legislative priorities are providing health benefits for displaced steel workers, and securing more funding for "business incubators" and higher education in the economically depressed Mahoning Valley.
When he comes to Washington, Ryan and other new members will receive wireless phones and electronic Blackberry devices. The first step for most freshmen is to hire a core group of staffers and to focus on preparing the office to function administratively.
Anthony Traficanti, the administrator of the 17th District offices, worked with Ryan a decade ago in Washington when the congressman-elect was interning in Traficant's office. Now Traficanti finds himself appealing to a former intern for a job.
"If I was offered the opportunity to continue to work for the Valley and use the experience I have in government, I think it would be a very worthwhile cause," Traficanti said. "I would probably say the majority of people are interested" in staying on as staffers in the 17th District offices, he added.
Ryan said that he probably would not rehire any of the current 17th District staffers who are based in the Washington office. He said the only qualifications he is looking for are "people who are educated and experienced and have good reputations in the communities." During his victory speech Tuesday, Ryan said he wanted to hire staffers with master's degrees and economic development experience.
CONTRIBUTOR: Vindicator politics writer David Skolnick.