Leadership Changes for Defense SubcommitteeFebruary 18, 2010

 

Norm Dicks, a U.S. Representative from Washington State, is poised to become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee after Rep. John Murtha, (D., Pa.) died earlier this month from complications after routine gall bladder surgery. Dicks would take over the chairmanship of a subcommittee that controls the Pentagon's $650 billion budget. That represents about half of the discretionary spending in the federal budget, according to an article in the Tacoma News.

Dicks appears to have full support of the Democrats and does not face any known opposition. During Murtha's illness, Dicks has been the acting chair. "Everything looks pretty well lined up," Dicks told the Tacoma News.

The move would be a coup for Washington State, especially since Democratic Representative Adam Smith is the new chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee. Not only will the state have a strong voice in national security and defense policies, but it could offer a boost to the state's bases and Boeing, according to the report.

Analysts don't expect there to be any major differences between Murtha and Dick's handling of the subcommittee. The exception will be the handling of the seemingly never-ending $35 billion competition for the refueling tanker that will replace the Air Force's current aging fleet. Murtha was pushing for splitting the contract between Boeing, and an alliance of Airbus and Northrop Grumman, while Dicks opposed the split, according to the article.

Apart from the tanker competition, analysts believe Boeing will benefit greatly from having Dicks as the chairman. "For Boeing this is great news," Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group, a national security consulting firm, told the paper. Coming up shortly, the subcommittee will have to consider the survival of Boeing's C-17 and F-18 production lines.

Dicks has not been free of controversy, either. Last year, the Office of Congressional Ethics looked into his $133,000 in campaign contributions from a defense lobbying firm, its employees and clients. Dicks had secured $27 million in funding for four of the firm’s clients, according to the article. The investigation looked at the connection between the campaign contributions and the contracts, but Dicks was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Dicks noted that all subcommittee members would have to follow the new House ethics rules about disclosing earmarks. "We will be extra vigilant," he told the Tacoma News.