Democrat Cedric Richmond, Republican Jeff Landry are Louisiana's freshmen
The 112th Congress convenes Wednesday with an emboldened new Republican House majority intent on repealing President Barack Obama's signature health care legislation and curtailing federal spending and regulations.
View full sizeThe freshman class of House members of the upcoming 112th Congress pose for a group photo on the steps that lead to the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill. The Louisiana delegation's partisan makeup is unchanged -- a Democrat and a Republican in the Senate and a House lineup of six Republicans and one Democrat -- although two seats have turned over. Democrat Cedric Richmond of New Orleans is replacing Republican Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao in the 2nd Congressional District, while Republican Jeff Landry takes the 3rd District seat held by Democrat Charlie Melancon.
Richmond, who joked that one advantage of the GOP surge in the November elections is that he's gotten to know all eight of his fellow Democratic freshmen "real well," said he can help New Orleans and Jefferson Parish despite his party's new minority status in the House.
"The president is really committed to the recovery of the New Orleans metropolitan area so that is going to very good for us as we move to get the assistance we need," Richmond said, expressing confidence of working directly with Obama Cabinet officials to get help for his district.
Landry, a lawyer, said he has been encouraged by meeting so many fellow GOP freshman "who ran on the same platform of limited government, and getting the out-of-control federal spending under control." He said the process gets under way in earnest next week when the House is expected to pass a repeal of the massive health care law.
Democrats in the Senate, who retained a narrowed majority, have promised to kill the repeal legislation before it can reach the president's desk, where it would be vetoed.
While Landry and Richmond were winning their first congressional races, Republican Sen. David Vitter gained a second term with a surprisingly easy 19-point victory over Melancon. Vitter called his victory humbling but satisfying, given the speculation that his political career might be over after his telephone number was connected to a Washington escort service in 2007.
For most of his first six-year term, Vitter said the state was dealing with one crisis after another -- from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to the BP oil spill -- leading him and other delegation members to focus on recovery-related matters. Now, Vitter said he hopes to get more involved in national issues, though he's never been shy about expressing his views on issues like immigration and national defense.
He also plans an early meeting with proponents of allowing Americans to buy less expensive drugs from abroad, the one issue that has separated him from many fellow conservatives.
Vitter concedes that the 112th Congress is likely to be a disappointment to representatives of Louisiana nonprofit groups and local governments who are likely to get less from the federal government as lawmakers, "by necessity," move to trim federal spending, including controversial congressional earmarks.
He also defended House Republican leaders' decision to quickly schedule a vote to repeal the health overhaul law over criticism by Democrats and even some Republicans that the GOP hasn't yet crafted an alternative.
"Republicans ran on repeal and we need to move forward on that promise," Vitter said.
The three doctors in the state's House delegation, Republicans Charles Boustany of Lafayette, Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge and John Fleming of Minden, along with Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, are all vowing to help develop a viable option for what they and other Republicans call "Obamacare." Democrats said Republicans can't achieve coverage for the uninsured without some kind of mandate requiring Americans to get health insurance because costs would escalate out of control unless companies can spread risk between healthy and unhealthy Americans.
Vitter and others in the delegation are optimistic that Congress will pass legislation giving Gulf states 80 percent of the federal fines imposed on BP for last year's massive oil spill. Vitter said he has found support among congressional members of both parties and the White House.
What might be more problematic, he said, is working out a revenue-sharing formula for the affected states. Not unexpectedly, Louisiana lawmakers say their state suffered the most damage from the spill and deserve far and away the biggest share of the fines, which are likely to total in the billions of dollars.
As for delegation unity, Vitter is getting off to a conciliatory start, asking Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., with whom he often feuded during his first term, to escort him to the Senate chamber today for his swearing-in.
The relationship among Louisiana's six House Republicans, however, could be complicated by the state's loss of a congressional seat for the 2012 election cycle as a result of the 2010 Census. Landry is likely to be the odd man out, and could square off in a primary against one of his fellow Republicans -- most likely Boustany or Cassidy.
Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.383.7861.