June 7, 2001

Murray may head transportation panel

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Though it's not quite final, Washington's senior senator, Democrat Patty Murray, is expected to take over the U.S. Senate subcommittee responsible for doling out billions of federal dollars for transportation projects.

The decision on her possible promotion to chairwoman of the Appropriations transportation subcommittee lies in the hands of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who under current plans will head the full committee. He could decide as early as this week who will take over the subcommittees.

Though Byrd was thought to want the transportation job, his press secretary Tom Gavin said Tuesday the senator has set his sights instead on the Appropriations interior subcommittee. That would clear the way for Murray to head transportation, where she became senior Democrat earlier this year.

"It is everyone's expectation that she will become chairwoman of transportation Appropriations subcommittee," Gavin said. "He (Byrd) is staying in interior. That is his plan."

Control of the Senate will shift to the Democrats on Wednesday when Sen. Jim Jeffords officially leaves the Republican Party to become an independent and gives Democrats a 50-49 edge in the chamber. Top Democrats were lining up to take over committees and subcommittees that their party hasn't controlled since losing the majority in 1994. It's the first time in history that the Senate has changed hands in a meaningful way in mid-session.

Positions will not jell until Senate leaders Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., settle on an organizational plan for the chamber.

As Byrd makes his expected move to chairman, he can take over one subcommittee within the full committee. Choosing interior would give him sway over funding for wildfires, parks, land conservation and other issues.

Murray has had a good working relationship with Byrd since her election in 1992. Her spokesman Todd Webster said the transportation slot was "a top choice" for the senator.

"She's excited by the prospect and the challenge of chairing the subcommittee," Webster said, noting that "Seattle enjoys the dubious distinction of having the second-worst traffic congestion" in the nation.

But Webster was cautious about Murray's expected ascension to chairwoman.

"Until it happens ... we are not going to make a lot of promises or statements," he said.

The transportation subcommittee controls billions of federal dollars for highways, mass transit, air traffic control, pipeline safety and other issues.

As chairwoman, Murray would have more say over how the money is spent, though she would still have to work with Republicans in the White House, the House and narrowly divided Senate.

She could use her new authority to help ease Puget Sound traffic congestion by securing more funding for a light-rail line connecting Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Seattle's University District.

But Murray has supported a "time-out" on federal money for the project while the regional agency in charge, Sound Transit, revises its plans to address a list of problems including cost and schedule overruns.