A Congressman Grows, Rep. Tom Lewis gains respect among knowledgable in Washington (PBP) 7-10-83kh
ais been out there, he knows what life is all about anci noaoay can con nim ... fie
ara drinkina it all in and you know that there are no flies on Born.'
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D2—The Post, Sundays July 10, 1983
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his mouth shut"' on occasions when
Reagan seems less than well pre-
pared.
The only person interviewed who
was critical of Lewis' performance so
far was Democrat Culverhouse of
Fort Pierce, who Lewis beat by about
8,000 votes last November to win the
District 12 seat.
Most observers, including ,
agree that Culverhouse is itching for a
reinia.tch next year. Culverhouse said
he hasn't decided whether to run
again.
"Anything's possible," he said.
Culverhouse said Lewis has "put
forth an appearance of activity" as a
congressman but has shown "no sub-
stance" and hasn't been very effective
in getting money for district projects,
in part because Lewis is a member of
the House Republican minority.
Specifically, Culverhouse said it
was he, not Lewis, who helped get
$75,000 into the federal budget for
engineering. design of a project to
deepen the Fort Pierce port. Culver-
house said he contacted Rep. Claude
Pepper (D -Fla.), with whom he has a
close, longstanding relationship, and
that Pepper went to Rep. Bill Chappell
(D -Fla.), a member of the House Ap-
propriations Committee, who got the
money into the budget.
"It's either a situation that he (Lew-
is) promised them (local officials)
something and didn't follow through
— and that would be a situation of
office incompetency — or he decided
not to throw himself into the issue,"
Culverhouse said, adding that this was
the first time since the election he has
publicly criticized Lewis' perfor-
mance.
"The important thing is that Tom
Lewis, to my knowledge, had told the
Chamber (of Commerce in Fort
Pierce) that he would try to do some-
thing about it and did nothing," Cul-
verhouse said.
Lewis acknowledges that Culver -
house's call to Pepper helped get the
$75,000 into the budget. But Lewis
said Culverhouse does not deserve as
much credit as he's taking and that
Culverhouse's criticisms are "unwar-
ranted."
"That's a piddling amount of money
and we were going to get it in there,"
Lewis said, adding that he was just
waiting for the right moment to move.
� U�
Cox News Service Photo by Bud Newman
4-H meM ers -.`aria P— overs, Kayla Albritton, Kristen Madison meet with Lewis in his Washington office
"The money would have been there
arrival.
that ... jIe is up a lot more than he is
be.
whether he made the phone call or '
Mrs. Lewis agrees.
down." I
"I thought I would have the mental
not." s
"He still feels a thrill when he feels
When he's tired or feeling down, she
challenge, yes, but I did not think I
Besides, Lewis 'said''`work''bn the apart of this congressional (experi-
said, Lewis can get snappy and be-
would have the physical challenge,"
port deepening project can't start un- _ _ ence) and to know that he is working to
come "a little quick to answer."
he said. "It used to tire me out."
til the state -iss�u cau , _ ;..' o al
, shape. the future," she said. "I think it
She said her husband needs to get
Lewis, the former chief of jet engine
permit that is stilt.peno-M- a is
is fUlf illing. I think it takes a lot more
back into playing golf to relax, but
testing at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, is
no rush to get. tho-.lesign funds. €� n, .
out , of him that he thought it would."
that he hasn't had time to play since
no dummy and no one questions his
"I'm not _going get into a verbal
` but other than the fact that Lewis
coming to Congress. And she said she
intellectual capacity to handle the job.
battle with hinny'.' Lewis said of Cu-
has: added a few pounds around the
misses the 2 -mile evening walks they
Yet, even he admits that the sheer
verhouse. "I'm doing my job as a co -
mi 'ddle and the fact that he has had to
took together in North Palm Beach or
volume and complexity of issues he
gressman." ,Fz".0010 w
switch to a wider shoe because his feet
in Tallahassee during legislative ses-
must deal with can be overwhelming.
And so far, Lewd Y , 'likes h"
hurt` from so much walking back and
sions. She said her husband usually
"There is more thrown at you than I
new job a lot, `eves"i ith -s built -ib
forth to the Capitol, Mrs. Lewis said
gets home f rom the of f ice too late to
f eel the most intelligent person could
frustrations and limA" ion
she has noticed few changes in her
go for walks.
comprehend," he said. "I think you'd
"It's everything that I ho>ght It
husband since he came to Congress.
Like many newcomers, Lewis said
become a raving maniac if you tried to
would be," saidL$ , who��was elect-
"He has had some downs," she said.
the incredible pace and physical de-
absorb it all."
ice redden Y :` o `the '� ° fim ,
ed v p t.
``If he's had a hell of a da I know he's
Y,
mands of the job caught him b sur-
J g Y
Lewis said he thinks "five terms
class of Republicans shortly after his
had a hell of a day and he expresses
prise. He said every day on Capitol
would be enough" for him, if the vot-
Hill is like the frenzied last few days
ers approve. That would make him 68
of the Florida Legislature. when he retires from Congress in
"The thing that I learned to do was 1992.
say no (to all the invitations and de- As Lewis continues to adjust to life
mands on his time)," Lewis said. "You as a congressman, he has credited his
just have to recognize that you have to decade as a state legislator with giv-
struct;are your time so that you can be ing him a big jump over other fresh -
effective in those areas you want to men without similar- experience. It
also gave him an understanding of the
appropriations process, he said, and
made issues such as agriculture, gov-
ernment operations and - transporta-
tion easier for him. His science back-
ground helps him on the Science and
Technology Committee.
But he said in areas like foreign
affairs, "I can only scratch the surf ace
on that and I rely on the expertise of
other members."
To help keep in shape — and per-
haps to help work out any frustrations
or anxieties — Lewis has started tak-
ing karate lessons twice a week in the
House gymnasium.
"It's good exercise," he said. "If
gives you a good mental attitude."
And, he noted, "you may have to
wind up protecting yourself up here
one day and you better be ready to do
it."
Fear for their safety helped con-
vince the Lewis' to rent an apartment
in Crystal City, a concrete canyon of
apartments, condominiums and hotels
along U.S. 1 in Arlington, Va., only a
couple miles from the office. They
originally thought about renting in
Capitol Hill's residential section, but
decided the integrated neighborhood's
mix of high-priced, renovated town-
houses and more rundown dwellings
was not safe enough.
Mrs. Lewis said she didn't want to
live where people had iron bars on
their windows and big dogs for protec-
tion.
Their Crystal City apartment is se-
cure and close to the subway, which
Lewis said he usually takes to work.
Lewis said his most special moment
in six months as a congressman came
when he and about eight others were
called to the White House to meet with
Reagan prior to the House vote on
funding for the controversial MX mis-
sile.
"The most impressive thing to me
was sitting at the Cabinet table at the
White House with the president and
the vice president and Gen. (John) Ves-
sey (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff) and the secretary of defense .. .
and debating the MX, because I was
an undecided vote on that," said Lew-
is, who voted for MX funding.
"Here I am sitting with the most
powerful man in the world," Lewis
said. "I wasn't overwhelmed, but I
never thought I'd be here having this
kind of discussion.'
He said that White House visit
helped convince him that "Hey, what I
do here really does count.'
After six months in Washington,
others are beginning to notice that as
well.
i}
" S lei
.''ot-eHow Le
By dud Newman 01 inued government funding of the Clinch River
Cox News service Breeder Reactor nuclear project in Tennessee. The fund -
WASHINGTON — During his first six months in ing was . elet .
Congress, f reshman Rep. Tom Lewis has voted f or: A nucled"r freeze, which passed the House in amend-
• Funding for the MX missile, which passed. ed form. ` Lewis also supported several amendments --
• Funding for the American Conservation Corps-; a- sorne�of V�hich passed, some of which did not — designed to
conservation jobs program opposed by President Reagan: ; w.eaken 'alae freeze resolution during House floor debate.
The bill passed. r, >• amendment requiring that 75 percent of the
�> n8' 6 :
• An extra $325 million to improve science and math d�scrOtM,nary finds in the jobs bill be spent in areas of high
instructions in the public schools. The bill passed. unerrlpioMt The amendment passed.
• The so-called Social Security rescue bill nendment to the Social Security bill to raise
ensure solvency for the retirement system's trust funds by the retirement.age gradually from 65 to 67 after the year
speeding up already scheduled payroll tax increases and- 2000 td delete-provisiods decreasing benefits beginning in
gradually raising the retirement age to 66 after the year th'#t year and to raise payroll taxes in the year 2015. The
2000. The bill, which evolved from the recommendations. ari dm!;Rt Bass d
Social Secnrit' �► A _rn it to raise the Social Security payroll
of a presidentially appointed task force on oc y, r �4 Y p Y
4. lz 'a3 0 �;cet far both employers and employees,
"": passed. t
• The $4.6 billion emergency jobs and recession relief effective in the year 2010 instead of the long-term benefit
bill, which passed. cuts and tax increases in the Social Security revision bill.
• An amendment making the goal of U.S.-Soviet arms . The amendment w4s .defeated.
control negotiations an agreement to scrap two existing • A bill designating 1.13 million acres of national
nuclear warheads for each new one deployed instead of, . ,forest., laud: in :Oregon as federal wilderness. The bill
seeking a freeze on nuclear weapons. The amendment
failed. • A bill to authorize $760 million this year for a
• A bill to repeal the law establishing a withholding temporary loan program to help unemployed homeowners
tax on interest and dividend earnings as of July 1. The bill make their mortgage payments, plus $100 million next
—a similar version of which Lewis had filed himself -- :,year for ..emergency shelter for the homeless. The bill
passed. .passed:
• Extra funds for meals programs for older Am6ri- Bids to provide more than $70 billion in the next
cans. The funding was approved over the president's ob- federal fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, for the Department of
jections. Housing and Urbane Development and 17 independent
• An amendment to prohibit the Environmental Pro agencies, for the Department of Transportation, for the
tection Agency from imposing sanctions on communities National Science Foundation, for civilian research and
that have failed to meet air quality standards set under the development programs at the Department of Energy and
Clean Air Act. The amendment passed. for the Securities and Exchange Commission's operations.
• A bill to provide $101 million in military aid and,,, A1� four bills passed.
$150 million in economic aid to Lebanon and to require the.' ®;Arnnizacieit to 'increase money] for the Environ -
president to seek authorization from ,Congress to extend it erAa" i Protection Agency next year by $219 million. Theo
U.S. participation in the multinational peacekeeping force�ry,::
iepdrentsgassed.
stationed there. The bill passed. ;A ,bill to }author°ize grants to local school district to
• An amendment to delete $56 million from the help offset the costs of desegregation. The bill passed.
budget for various water projects in Colorado. The amend dill t extebd the Follow Through program to
z
meet failed. provide-ei' ducator al, health, nutritional and social services
• An amendment allowing the use of funds by the to disadvantaged,, children who previously had been en -
Defense Department to manufacture components of Bina- ' 64ied in" Ttogra-n s like Head Start. The bill passed.
ry chemical weapons, but barring their final assemble • .An amendment to eliminate $910,000 in office
until after Oct. 1, 1985. The amendment failed. ",, expenses, ,f orl �f orm�er..Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter
• An amendment to delete $127.5 million in start up b 1vY ;them rriouey for pensions. The amendment
money for the Los Angeles subway system. The amend- passed.
ment failed. _ y, ,� =` A r endrhertt to' -prohibit the use of federal health
4<`
• A motion to recommit the Transportation Apprd' `` e it ;pay f or, abortions unless the life of the
priations bill back to committee with orders to cut all mother is endangered. The amendment passed.
y
programs by 4 percent. The motion failed. :' r . A a_c a .idrrie t to delete $19.4 million for procure
• A bill designating 2.33 million acres of national '�rK i f", anti -satellite `missile. The amendment failed.
forest land in California as wilderness area. The bill f& .An amendment to delete $6.2 billion for procure -
passed. :Meat -of the P-1 bomber and another amendment to bar
• Amendments to reduce Fiscal Year 1984 funds for multi --year procurement contracts for the B-1 bomber.
the National Endowment for the Arts and the. National Both amendments failed.
Endowment for the Humanities by $40 million, bringing'_.... • An amendment to delete $671 million for procure -
them back to 1983 levels. The amendments failed. ` ``: went of Divar anti-aircraft guns. The amendment failed.
• An amendment to reduce Department of the Interi An amendment to delete $432.8 million for procure -
or funding by 4 percent across the board. First adopted rent of Pershing II missiles. The amendment failed.
and then killed on a subsequent vote. • A bill to..cap at $720 the amount an�bne can receive
During his first six months in Congress, Lewis has fi oin the 10 percent tax cut scheduled to go into effect July
voted against: ; :`rhY bilfpsed but was killed by the Senate.
Lewis during his karate class held in the House gymnasium
4