Centrists unite

Just a few years ago, U.S. Senate centrists seemed like a warm-up act for “Survivor” – more and more of them were disappearing from the island of bipartisanship and it was hard to see a point in their rituals of meeting and policy discussions. Earlier this week, however, the first centrists meeting after the election last month brought out 36 senators, five of them freshman, to what is now an important bloc within the Senate. Its members should use their numbers to press for legislation voters say they want but that Senate leadership has stopped.

The centrists – 14 Republicans, 12 Democrats, led by Sens. Olympia Snowe, Republican of Maine, and John Breaux, Democrat of Louisiana – have played an unofficial role when their numbers were in the low 20s. For instance, their ideas on health care were later incorporated into the Patient’s Bill of Rights. They could perform that service again next session, and the mere fact that more than one-third of the Senate has agreed to sit down and talk across the aisle would be helpful. Or they could conclude that their numbers give them an opportunity to assume power in a formal way.

There is no reason, for instance, that Sen. Snowe should not join the Appropriations Committee, the group that controls the money in the Senate and that Sens. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Ted Stevens of Alaska have used to help their relatively low-population states become more important players on the national level. An opening exists on Appropriations now because of Slade Gorton’s election loss in Washington. Sen. Snowe not only has extensive experience in the House and Senate, as a swing vote she has the attention of Senate leadership.

The reasons for Sen. Snowe seeking a place at the Appropriations table are not complicated. While the committee may not set the budget, it decides where the money goes; that puts senators on the committee in a powerful position, and would add force to coalitions, such as the centrists, that they lead. The first requirement for any member of Congress hoping to pass or influence legislation is that he or she be noticed. Members on Appropriations are noticed.

There is further little reason that Sen. Susan Collins, also a member of the centrists, could not replace Sen. Snowe on the Armed Services Committee, leaving Governmental Affairs, to keep an eye on military issues, including those that affect Bath Iron Works, should Sen. Snowe move to Appropriations. Maine’s dependence on military contracts is not what it was as recently as the late 1980s, but it is still substantial. As an Aroostook County native who understood the importance of Loring Air Force Base, Sen. Collins would be an effective advocate for the state’s continued military interests.

Both Sens. Snowe and Collins have been effective and energetic leaders for Maine in Congress. With the new session, the 50-50 split and the return of a substantial number of moderate voices in the chamber, they now have an opportunity to expand their roles. Both Maine and the centrists would benefit, giving this region stronger voices on issues of lasting importance to the nation.