McHugh wants top committee post

WASHINGTON — Rep. John M. McHugh won't be done campaigning if he wins re-election this fall. In fact, he may face the contest of his political career.

Mr. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, suddenly finds himself in a competition to lead the Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee at a time of war — and potentially to assume the chairmanship.

The congressman, who made his interest official Monday in a letter to House GOP colleagues, faces Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md., who has served as long on the committee but has perhaps not received as much visibility on everyday military issues.

Other candidates could emerge, including Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, who has two years' less seniority.

"Having spearheaded over 63 hearings and traveled across the globe to visit troops stationed and deployed overseas, I have both witnessed first hand and helped to shape the national security outcomes our leadership and conference have worked so hard to achieve," Mr. McHugh wrote.

"The committee must be led by a person who understands that we are a nation at war against a determined enemy. Our military forces will need to recover, refurbish and grow to be fully prepared for future conflicts," Mr. McHugh wrote.

Mr. McHugh's ascent is a mix of luck and longevity. The ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Duncan L. Hunter, R-Calif., is retiring after a long-shot run for president; Rep. James Saxton, R-N.J., who would be next in line, is retiring, as is Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., who arrived with Mr. McHugh and Mr. Bartlett in 1993.

Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., another senior member, already holds the top GOP slot on the Education and Labor Committee and has never chaired a subcommittee on Armed Services. And Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., who started in 1995, blew any chance of advancement by openly criticizing the Iraq war.

The competition presumes each of the candidates wins re-election this fall. A few Democrats have announced plans to run against Mr. McHugh. Both Mr. McHugh and Mr. Bartlett have won past elections by wide margins.

Should the Republicans regain the majority, which analysts say is highly unlikely this year, the race would be for chairman.

The decision will fall to the House Republican Steering Committee, on which, conveniently, Mr. McHugh has served for more than a decade. The rules allow him to vote on the position, should he still be on the committee next year, he said in an interview Tuesday.

Mr. Bartlett is not on the Steering Committee. But he has one tool Mr. McHugh does not: a political action committee that raises money for House Republicans. The Bartlett PAC has raised $49,450 this cycle; in its first year, 2006, the PAC raised $113,432 and gave $40,000 to candidates, the Center for Responsive Politics reported, citing Federal Election Commission figures.

Mr. McHugh said he has no plans at the moment to establish such a committee, called a leadership PAC, but noted that he has contributed regularly to the National Republican Congressional Committee and to GOP candidates. In the 2006 cycle, his campaign gave $50,000 to the NRCC.

"I don't think it's simply a question of a leadership PAC," Mr. McHugh said.

Mr. McHugh wrote his letter on campaign letterhead. His spokeswoman, Stephanie Nigro, said he believed the leadership quest is political enough in nature that he should not use taxpayer money to pay for it.

Discussions among lawmakers are beginning well before the congressional elections, but formal presentations to the Steering Committee must wait until after November, Mr. McHugh said. He said he expects other candidates to come forward but has heard only of letters being circulated by himself and Mr. Bartlett.

Mr. McHugh's experience on the committee comes through his chairmanship, for several years, of the Personnel Subcommittee and a panel overseeing military morale, welfare and recreation programs. He has been chairman of the House Army Caucus, a group of lawmakers with Army interests.

Mr. Bartlett is ranking Republican on the Seapower Subcommittee and formerly led the Projection Forces Subcommittee. He followed Mr. McHugh as chairman of the morale, welfare and recreation panel.

Before coming to Congress, Mr. Bartlett worked for 20 years on military projects as an engineer and scientist, his spokeswoman, Lisa Wright, said.

Mr. Bartlett is 81. Mr. McHugh is 59.

Mr. Bartlett has a reputation as more conservative than Mr. McHugh, winning a 93.9 life score from the American Conservative Union, compared with Mr. McHugh's 74.6. Both consistently have supported the mission in Iraq and opposed timelines for troop withdrawals, although Mr. McHugh did at one time propose breaking war funding into pieces, to be approved based on benchmarks for the Iraqi government.