Her Aim is True

The state's lone female rep in D.C. works to stimulate the economy.

by Paul Fain

Congress is getting serious about trying to jump-start the sluggish economy, and has been working overtime on a short-term stimulus plan. It's an unusually bipartisan deal that could include checks of up to $600 per person sent out to 117 million households.

At the table during these negotiations has been U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, who represents Northeast Philly and the inner suburbs of Montgomery County.

In just her second term, Schwartz, 59, has already earned two money slots — on the House Budget Committee and the Committee on Ways and Means. In an interview with City Paper conducted a day before she took off for a tour of Iraq, Schwartz said it has been tricky to come up with economic fixes that are palatable to both Democrats and Republicans. Congress needs to move fast to make a difference, she noted, but said that it must also come up with a policy that President Bush won't veto.

"The president has not been easy to work with," Schwartz says. "He has not been compromising or cooperative."

Despite her frustration, Schwartz is no extremist. The self-described moderate works well with Republicans and is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a centrist group of representatives. Her pragmatism and fundraising clout have elevated her status within the Democratic leadership to the point that she was tagged a "rising star" by one influential Capitol Hill newspaper.

Standing out in a crowd is nothing new for Schwartz, though. After all, she's the lone woman among Pennsylvania's 19-member congressional crew. "I've developed good strong relationships within the delegation," Schwartz said. "It does change things when there's somebody who's different in a group. I think they were pretty used to being all guys."

Before serving in the state senate, she was the executive director of a women's health-care center in Philadelphia. She's maintained a focus on health-care issues, and helped lead a congressional charge to expand a health-insurance program for children called SCHIP.

Bush vetoed the bill, which would have funneled $35 billion into child health-care programs and would have allowed states to add coverage for four million children. Democrats tried to override the veto last week, but fell 15 votes short of the required two-thirds majority.

The fate of many long-term policies remains in the balance as lawmakers wait to see which presidential candidate ultimately sets up shop in the White House. "I think a lot of our health-care priorities will have to wait until the next president," Schwartz predicted.

It's a safe bet that Schwartz will be in Washington throughout the next president's term, although she now has a challenger for her seat. Entering the race last week was Marina Kats, a Republican personal injury lawyer from Abington, according to the Doylestown Intelligencer. Kats has an uphill battle, as Schwartz had $1.3 million in available campaign cash as of last fall.

Meanwhile, Schwartz remains ahead of the curve in reaching out directly to her Philly area constituency from her D.C. office. Her staff posts podcasts on her House Web site, organizes "town hall"-style conference calls and uploads many of her floor speeches on YouTube. Other Philly lawmakers also have solid Internet presences, including U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who recently won an award for his site.

The self-promotion isn't just for show, though, as Capitol Hill staffers struggle to get the word out about what their bosses are doing to the public and Philadelphia reporters in Washington. The Inquirer's John Shiffman has recently filed stories from D.C. Adding to his coverage is the busy Brett Lieberman of the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, who runs a blog called Pennsyltucky Politics, and a handful of other Pennsylvania reporters, wire services and bloggers.

But don't look for Philly's cash-strapped news organizations to add muscle in D.C. anytime soon, even during this presidential election cycle. Rumors that the Inky would be scaling back its Beltway presence were spurred by an announcement from Brian Tierney, publisher of the Inquirer and the Daily News, who last week said his media company must cut costs by 10 percent.

(pfain_dc@yahoo.com)

Paul Fain is a reporter in Washington, D.C. Philly on the Potomac appears sporadically in News.