This rticle first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 19, 2011 - WASHINGTON - A diverse quartet of U.S. senators -- featuring a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, an outspoken government-contract watchdog, and two ambitious Senate newcomers with prior performances in the U.S. House -- promises to inspire some national attention while representing the bi-state region on Capitol Hill.
The four players with such contrasting styles and seniority -- two experienced Democrats and two freshman Republicans -- aren't likely to synchronize much on big national issues, which tend to polarize senators along party lines. But they expect to play in tune on some regional concerns in Missouri and Illinois, whether the issue involves expanding and improving the Gateway Arch grounds or supporting the high-speed rail line between St. Louis and Chicago. This article looks at the two Illinois senators.
Durbin Cracks the majority whip
The most influential player is the quartet is Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate and a friend and ally of President Barack Obama. His national priorities tend to parallel those of the Senate majority leadership and the administration -- for example, blocking the Republican effort to repeal last year's health-care overhaul -- but he also has many personal and state-focused goals in the new Congress.
One of those is continuing his campaign to help young people who were brought into the country illegally, but are willing to serve in the U.S. military or attend college, to get on a path towards legal residence. Durbin first sponsored such a bill -- known as the DREAM Act -- a decade ago and came close to getting it approved last month. The bill got a majority of Senate votes but was blocked because it failed to gain enough support to stop a threatened filibuster.
"I poured everything I had into [the DREAM Act] for 10 years. I lie awake at night thinking about these young people who have no country and no future," Durbin told the Beacon last month. At a Capitol news conference after the bill was blocked, he vowed to continue the battle. "These young people are the next generation of leaders in America -- our doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers. They must be part of the nation, the only nation that they've ever known."
Durbin also said, "We still need to tackle comprehensive immigration reform. And I hope Sen. [John] McCain and I can work together on it." The Illinois senator said that McCain, R-Az., approached him recently to discuss a possible compromise. "He said he wants to sit down and talk first about border enforcement and a few other elements, including the Dream Act," Durbin said, "and I'm open to" such talks.
When Durbin talks, he often gets results. As the Senate's assistant majority leader (also called the majority whip), Durbin focuses on the day-to-day action on the Senate floor, responsible for monitoring legislation and counting votes. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. -- with whom Durbin shares a house in D.C. -- is leading the Democratic "war room" rapid response effort as part of a new caucus group that merges policy and communications.
Durbin, who served on the White House deficit reduction panel and voted for its proposals last month, also told the Beacon that he hoped those recommendations, would form the basis for congressional progress in reducing the federal deficit. "Most of these commission reports are lost in history," Durbin said. "But this one has legs, and I think it reflects the fact that the 11 of us who voted for it were so diverse, from [conservative] Sen. Tom Coburn [R-Ok.] to Dick Durbin."
The Illinois senator added: "What I hope we can do -- in the Senate, in particular, since there was stronger bipartisan support among senators on the commission -- is to use this as a template for putting together our own budget plan for this coming year. I think the commission gives us a reasonable starting point and a good process."
Durbin and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., also want to curb hidden fees associated with many prepaid debit cards and increase transparency for consumers. "It is an unfortunate reality that the big banks and card network giants often try to circumvent common-sense regulations to squeeze more fees out of their customers," Durbin wrote in a recent letter to Elizabeth Warren, who is organizing the federal government's new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
To help break through some of the legislative logjams that have plagued the Senate in recent years, Durbin would like to see reforms of Senate rules that make it easy for the minority to block nominees and legislation. While the basic right of the minority to threaten or deploy filibusters probably cannot be changed, an effort is underway to make it a bit tougher for a minority to wage them.
"We had almost 100 filibusters again this year," Durbin told the Beacon. "It has become commonplace in the Senate and cannot be constructive. We cannot move forward when they are using this tactic nearly every day." He added: "It's time for us to take an honest look at changing these rules."
In general, Durbin says finding bipartisan solutions will be essential in the new Congress, in which Republicans control the House and the Democratic majority in the Senate has been pared down. He says Obama has moved toward the center and is willing to compromise, and the Senate should follow suit.
"The president wants to produce results for the American people. He did it with a Democratic congress and he wants to do it with a divided congress," Durbin said. "That means working closely with Republicans who will sit down and try to compromise, as he will."
Kirk as a 'mod squad' leader?
Former House member, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., might help bridge the gap between Senate Democrats and Republicans on some issues.
For example, Kirk -- a Naval Reserve intelligence officer -- voted in favor last month of repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" rule that had restricted gays and lesbians from serving in the military and being honest about their sexuality.
That vote and some other positions he has taken on issues unrelated to fiscal policies has led some Senate observers to express hope that he might become one of the so-called "mod squad" handful of moderate Republicans who, on occasion, work with centrist Democrats to reach bipartisan compromises on key issues.
So far, Kirk and Durbin say they have a good relationship, and they have cooperated on several issues of interest to Illinois. On Wednesday, the two announced that they planned to sit together, side by side, at the president's state of the union address Tuesday. "Sitting together as Americans rather than partisans is a helpful example of respect and cooperation following the tragedy in Arizona," said Kirk.
After their initial meeting as senators, Kirk said he looked forward to "building a bipartisan pro-Illinois agenda that puts our state ahead of partisan politics." He added: "The people of Illinois want to see their elected leaders work together to solve problems and improve quality of life."
Kirk, who has spent the last two weeks criss-crossing Illinois, said this month that he wants to work with Durbin on a number of issues, including high-speed rail for Illinois, banning the dumping of sewage in Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes, and prodding the Environmental Protection Agency to address nagging concerns about chromium pollutants in Chicago's water system.
To be sure, Kirk -- who in late November took over the Senate seat once held by Obama and later by appointed Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill. -- disagrees with Durbin on many national issues and is especially conservative on federal spending. In a session with journalists this month, Kirk listed 15 "anti-spending reforms" that he argued should be attached to any legislation related to the worsening U.S. debt.
"The most important reform will be to provide only short-term extensions of debt, giving economic conservatives many opportunities during the next Congress to cut back on spending and debt," said Kirk. "In addition, the remaining reforms will help end the practice of increasing the federal debt, returning the government to a pay-as-you-go, sustainable operation."
Kirk's anti-spending initiatives would include slashing the budgets of Congress and the White House by 15 percent, freezing federal civilian pay and benefits, freezing federal hiring, capping discretionary spending and enacting a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. He also wants to establish a bipartisan "Grace Commission II" to propose reforms that would reduce government spending.
In addition, Kirk wants to find ways to open new market for U.S exports, including urging Obama to back free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea (which the Obama administration already has negotiated) to open key markets for Illinois and other U.S. exports.
He also supports Obama's positions against earmarked appropriations and would support giving the President the power to veto line items in the budget. Kirk voted against Durbin's DREAM Act, but advocates greater law enforcement aid to Mexico to help that country battle the drug cartels that dominate its border.