State’s delegation flourishes in popular psuedo-committees

You might have heard of the House Tea Party Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

But how about the Congressional Pediatric and Adult Hydrocephalus Caucus? Or the Unexploded Ordnance Caucus or the Anti-Value Added Tax Caucus?

The U.S. House this year is teeming with nearly 350 such congressional member groups, which serve as kind of shadow committees uniting lawmakers around shared interests, agenda and even occupations (GOP Doctors Caucus, anyone?).

And few are as active as Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in parlaying her caucus participation into legislative pursuits. The Spokane-area Republican co-chairs seven of these informal groups, ranging from the Congressional Military Family Caucus to the Republican New Media Caucus.

McMorris Rodgers’ choice of caucuses largely reflects the interests of her Eastern Washington district, home to Spokane’s Fairchild Air Force Base and many rural communities. But with a retired Navy commander husband and a young son with Down syndrome, McMorris Rodgers also has drawn deeply on her family experience to shape her policies.

So far this year, McMorris Rodgers has co-sponsored more than a dozen bills aimed at military families, including the Military Spouse Employment Act and the Veterans Pension Protection Act.

On Tuesday, she unveiled legislation to allow parents of children with disabilities to sock away more money for their future care without jeopardizing their benefits from Medicaid, private insurance or other sources. “The caucuses are a great vehicle if you need to work on specific issues” that cross jurisdictions of multiple committees, McMorris Rodgers, 42, said.

More so than their Senate peers, House members turn to caucuses as an outlet for their untapped legislative drive. Most representatives sit on just one or two committees, compared with four or five in the Senate.

So many like-minded lawmakers band together to push their causes, be it immigration reform or motorcycle safety. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, for instance, serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

But Inslee co-chairs five caucuses in the 112th Congress, including the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, which he founded.

Rep. Dave Reichert is another enthusiastic caucus joiner. The Auburn Republican serves as co-chair on nine of them, including ones on law enforcement, global health, national parks and Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, co-chairs three: The Bi-­Partisan Congressional Singapore Caucus, Congressional Caucus for Effective Foreign Assistance and Congressional Caucus on Intellectual Property Promotion and Piracy Prevention. Norm Dicks, a Belfair Democrat, is co-chair of just one: the Congressional Joint Strike Fighter Caucus.

In 1996, the House had 148 caucus groups, according to the Congressional Research Service. This year, 345 of them have officially registered with the Committee on House Administration.

The Senate has fewer of them, but no one keeps a precise tally. That’s because that chamber officially recognizes only one, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, which was established by law in 1985.

McMorris Rodgers, who was elected in 2004, said caucuses in some ways function more democratically than standing committees.

“Committees are driven by the committee chairman who decides what issues will have hearings and what bills will come up for a vote,” she said. A caucus, on the other hand “allows for informal discussions and really getting to, ‘What’s the solution?’ ”

As a member of the House Republican leadership as its conference vice chair, McMorris Rodgers is a staunch conservative whose view on just about every issue conflicts with Democrats’ position.

She has vowed not to raise taxes, supports repealing the 2010 health care law and voted to convert Medicare into a voucher plan for seniors to shop for their own coverage.

But congressional caucuses afford McMorris Rodgers the chance to step out of the partisan bubble. She has visited with first lady Michelle Obama at the White House to discuss military families. From that meeting came the idea to hold public summits at bases around the nation.

McMorris Rodgers hosted one last month at Fairchild Air Force Base with the co-chair of the military family caucus, Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr., a Georgia Democrat.

McMorris Rodgers said she sometimes asks her husband, Brian Rodgers, for his perspective on military issues. Still, she noted that she was already serving on the House Armed Services Committee before they married in 2006.

In contrast, McMorris Rodgers’ involvement with the Down syndrome Caucus was propelled by the 2007 birth of her son, Cole, with the chromosomal birth defect.

In July, McMorris Rodgers introduced a pair of bills calling for more aggressive Down syndrome research by referring to her son.

She also has a daughter, Grace, who turns 1 next month.

McMorris Rodgers said caucuses are a kind of auxiliary Congress, educating lawmakers, identifying problems and galvanizing action toward solutions.

“They’re a positive influence on the process,” she said.

Kyung Song: 202-662-7455 ksong@seattletimes.com