WASHINGTON TODAY: Bush, Gore cast spells over Congress

WASHINGTON - More and more, members of Congress are being pulled into the orbits of presidential hopefuls Al Gore and George W. Bush.

In matters large and small, the presidential campaigns of the Democratic vice president and the Republican Texas governor are influencing, sometimes even shaping, legislative conduct.

But in different ways.

Gore and congressional Democrats have aligned themselves closely on major issues to push a mutual agenda - issues like prescription drug coverage for older Americans and a so-called patients' bill of rights.

Bush generally has kept his distance from Republicans in Congress, although on several occasions he has gently chided his party's Capitol Hill division.

Increasingly, Republicans who control Congress appear to be attempting to accommodate Bush even if he doesn't ask.

The Senate voted this month to give the next president the ability to make unilateral cuts in the nation's nuclear arsenal, while in effect keeping current restrictions in place on President Clinton.

Although the Senate bill would help whoever wins in November, Bush has made a specific campaign proposal for deep cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, now about 7,200 warheads, whether Russia goes along or not.

Bush's proposal would be illegal under current law.

Sponsors of the bill said the Bush campaign did not ask for the change, and campaign officials refused to comment on it.

Because he served in both the House and the Senate, Gore has many friends and acquaintances on Capitol Hill and frequently goes visiting.

Furthermore, with the constitutional role of Senate president, Gore has the authority to vote to break Senate ties.

This authority was exercised with a flourish last week as Senate Democrats ''summoned'' Gore off the campaign trail to rush back to the Capitol in case his vote was needed on a White House-backed bill on hate crimes.

The vote wasn't even close. The bill passed 57-42. Instead of casting a tie-breaking vote, Gore found himself presiding over a news conference.

Republicans later suggested the outcome was never in doubt, and Gore was brought in mostly for political grandstanding.

Bush doesn't have as many close relationships with members of Congress as Gore does. His top congressional allies are Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., and Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

''There's a good deal of contact, but it's not like we're flying in formation,'' Coverdell said of his relationship with Bush.

He said Bush's positions on many issues naturally coincide with those of Senate Republicans, even though ''we got at cross purposes on Kosovo. Sometimes that's hard to avoid.''

Coverdell said the Bush campaign checks with him ''from time to time'' but that mostly it's just to find out what's going on.

''Governor Bush has not tried to weigh in on a lot of issues,'' said former Bush rival Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. ''But when he has, as with Kosovo and on the earned income tax credit, he's been effective.''

Last year, Bush made his disagreement with House Republicans clear when he labeled as ''a bad idea'' their plan to save money in the budget by delaying income-support payments to poor workers. They immediately withdrew it.

Then, last month, Bush subtly lodged objections to legislation by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., that would set a July 1, 2001, deadline for withdrawing troops from Kosovo. The proposal was withdrawn after a Bush spokesman suggested the governor felt it amounted to ''legislative overreach.''

His latest dispute with the lawmakers came Tuesday when he differed with an effort by House Republicans to allow American food into Cuba for the first time in 40 years. ''I have opposed lifting the sanctions and I still continue to do so,'' Bush said during a campaign appearance in Wayne, Mich. ''I am very skeptical as to whether or not Fidel Castro will let food get to his people.''

Gore's relationship with congressional Democrats hasn't been all smooth sailing. He disagrees with most of them on the administration-backed bill to establish permanent normal trade relations with China. The bill is strongly opposed by organized labor, a top Democratic constituency.

The China trade bill, however, is the exception rather than the rule.

There isn't any ''usual trend'' for the spells that presidential candidates can cast over Congress, said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. ''It's complicated, depending on whether the candidates are trying to distance themselves from their party in Congress or put their fates together.''

''It's been on and off with Bush and the Republicans in Congress,'' Mann said. ''For one thing, he believes he's more popular than they are.''

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EDITOR'S NOTE - Tom Raum covers national and international affairs for The Associated Press.