Curt Smith: Two Hoosiers are playing key roles in Congress

Journalists rarely think to cover our state’s congressional delegation as a whole, focusing instead on high-profile votes or politics back home in individual districts.

As a result, Hoosiers are largely unaware of two significant developments showing our state’s growing clout in the Republican U.S. House of Representatives.

The first is the appointment of first-term legislator Erin Houchin (9th District) to the House Rules Committee. This little-known committee is the traffic cop of the large House, setting the terms of debate for key legislation. Houchin is one of nine Republicans doing the work of the speaker on this “insider’s insider” committee.

Her first big test came recently on the debt ceiling bill. She cast the decisive vote to advance the compromise negotiated between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to the floor of the U.S. House with a “closed” rule, meaning no amendments were allowed and debate was limited.

The 7-6 vote (with two Republicans joining the four Democrats) puts the freshman legislator on record as a strong supporter of the measure. My hunch is that vote will not cost her politically back home come election time in 2024, but I’m sure she’ll hear disapproval from some of her more conservative constituents. In essence, her vote allowed the measure to go forward to the full House under terms that favored its passage (no amendments allowed). It was a “take it or leave it” deal with the full faith and credit of the U.S. economy on the line.

Her political risks are if the measure becomes more controversial or is blamed for an economic downturn before the next election. Both risks are manageable.

The Rules Committee is a highly coveted post, suggesting the current leadership sees much promise in this legislator from southern Indiana who previously served in the Indiana Senate. For her to be in such a significant role less than five months into her first term indicates she is on a fast track to be a key leader in the current Congress.

Another development overlooked by Hoosier pundits is the remarkable career of Dr. Larry Bucshon (8th District). Bucshon was a cardiologist saving lives in the Evansville area when former President Barak Obama pushed though dramatic health care changes. Bucshon decided to run for Congress as a result of Obamacare and won a significant victory in 2010, despite having never held public office. I was pleased to serve as his general consultant for that race and then again in 2012.

But Bucshon has not needed much help since then. He was appointed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the legislative workhorse of the U.S. House. He is likely to serve as a subcommittee chair if Republicans keep the House in 2024, making him arguably the single best-poised legislator among our state’s nine representatives to impact policy.

This reflects his policy expertise as both a physician and Navy veteran, but also his political achievements, turning the former “bloody Eighth” battleground congressional district into a solid GOP seat. That took much work and deft political skills over a decade even as he won his colleagues’ confidence to play ever-larger policy roles in Washington.

Politics has changed to reflect our divided, divisive discourse. Gone are the days—at least for some time—of bipartisan cooperation in Washington by leaders like Republican Richard Lugar (36 years in the U.S. Senate) and Democrat Lee Hamilton (34 years in the U.S. House). Tenure today averages just seven years, and our state’s most senior federal legislator is Democrat Andre Carson (8th District), who began representing Indianapolis in 2009.

So it is heartening to see at least two key Hoosier legislators bringing Indiana’s trademark common sense and traditional values to the raucous policy debates in our nation’s capital.•

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Smith is chairman of the Indiana Family Institute and author of “Deicide: Why Eliminating The Deity is Destroying America.” Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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