Rep. John A. Boehner is leading a last-ditch effort by House Republican leaders to save the financial modernization bill.
The four-term Ohio Republican, a relative neophyte in the battle among banking, insurance, and securities firms, was selected in February by House Speaker Newt Gingrich to head a working group on reform. Last month Rep. Boehner's group revived the legislation just 12 days after it was declared dead.
With hopes of bringing a bill to the House floor before Congress adjourns Nov. 7, the Commerce Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill next week. But that vote won't occur if deals aren't reached on key issues.
That's where the "Boehner group" comes in.
Rep. Boehner must craft a compromise that will prevent a host of controversial amendments from crushing the bill if and when it comes to the House floor. Rules governing bank insurance sales and securities operations, as well as regulation of diversified financial holding companies, are the toughest issues.
"If it's going to be successful on the floor, they must figure out a process that doesn't lead to a bloodbath," said Edward L. Yingling, chief lobbyist for the American Bankers Association.
Besides Rep. Boehner, the group includes Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley, House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach, House Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon, and Reps. Richard Baker, Marge Roukema, and Michael Oxley, who chair key Banking and Commerce subcommittees.
Unlike these other key players in the debate, Rep. Boehner has uttered barely a public word on financial modernization.
To industry officials desperate for any indication of his intentions, Rep. Boehner's silence is maddening. Even longtime allies don't know where he stands.
"We haven't talked about financial reform in months. I'd love to get a call," said Thomas H. Hardy, executive vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Ohio.
"He's endeavored to take a very disciplined and low-profile role, so he's not saying anything publicly," said a spokesman for Rep. Boehner. The congressman refused to be interviewed for this article.
The group, which meets a couple of times a month, was formed in part to make sure no one derailed the bill. House leaders wanted no more antics like Rep. Solomon's surprise attempt in the summer of 1995 to slap a moratorium on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's ability to grant new bank insurance powers. That move sank a reform bill in the last Congress.
"It's a little humorous in a way," said Rep. Baker. "This group meets not to form any policy, but just to make sure no one does anything to hurt the bill's chances."
Rep. Baker predicted that Rep. Boehner won't make any policy decisions, but will only keep the GOP brass informed about the progress of negotiations and let them know if and when the bill is ready to come to the floor.
"He's a facilitator," Rep. Baker said. "Boehner hasn't played a role in determining any particular direction of the negotiations nor has he suggested that anybody contradict their individual convictions."
Though they have encouraged a last-minute effort to get the bill to floor, the Republican leaders will not allow a vote if the legislation remains contentious. Under orders from House Majority Leader Richard Armey, Rep. Bliley canceled committee votes on the bill scheduled in September to work out disputes among industry segments.
By setting up the Boehner group, GOP leaders signalled a strong desire to pass a bill before the 1998 elections. But that commitment hardly guarantees success, said David J. Pratt, lobbyist for the American Insurance Association.
In the last Congress, Rep. Boehner spearheaded a separate leadership group aimed at bringing a Superfund toxic cleanup bill to the House floor. Despite the senior-level attention, however, the legislation did not win the approval of a single committee.
"It was just too complicated," Mr. Pratt said.
Robert A. Rusbuldt, lobbyist for the Independent Insurance Agents of America, said GOP leaders eventually will force an agreement, if not in this Congress, then the next. "They can keep a bill off the floor and that's a powerful stick to use on those who want a bill," he said.
The insurance industry, he concedes, along with securities firms, are most vulnerable to that pressure because a mix of court decisions and regulations have allowed banks to cross into their businesses.
Rep. Boehner is as well versed as anyone in Congress on the industry disputes now blocking legislation, said Kevin McGuire, president and chief executive officer of Palm Desert (Calif.) National Bank, who joined the lawmaker for a round of golf in February.
"He understood that community banks like mine are very concerned about any bill that would mix banking and commerce," Mr. McGuire said. True to form, however, Rep. Boehner didn't let on where he stood on plans to let banks merge with nonfinancial firms.
Rep. Boehner has enjoyed strong support from the financial services industry during his 12 years in the Ohio legislature and Congress.
"He has a very solid and very personal relationship with bankers in his district and throughout the state," said John B. McCoy, chairman of Columbus, Ohio-based Banc One Corp. "Although I don't believe John has ever had occasion to become deeply involved in the details regarding banking issues, he has an excellent grasp on the big picture."
Rep. Boehner began his political career as a champion of small-business and deregulation, a philosophy his supporters attribute to his business background. Fresh out of Xavier University in 1977, he became president of Nucite Sales Inc., a down-and-out Ohio packaging company that he revived before leaving to take his congressional seat in 1990.
"He was a bright, well-intentioned guy," said Michael M. Van Buskirk, executive vice president of the Ohio Bankers Association. "When he was first elected he regularly sought the counsel of bankers in his state."
Business groups have rewarded him well, donating $883,766 to his 1996 reelection campaign, which accounted for 95% of his political war chest.
Financial services providers led the way with $209,414 in contributions. Insurance companies are his biggest supporters, with $72,114 in donations, while commercial banks rank seventh, with $29,675.
The West Chester resident rose rapidly through the Republican ranks after his election to Congress. In his freshman year he joined the "Gang of Seven," a group of reform-minded newcomers who fought to shut down the House Bank and exposed the cash-for-stamps scandal at the House Post Office.
After the 1992 election, he became a deputy to then-Minority Whip Gingrich, helping the Georgia Republican keep GOP members in line for major votes. When Republicans took over Congress after the 1994 election, Rep. Boehner managed Rep. Gingrich's successful campaign to become Speaker of the House and subsequently was elected Republican Conference chairman.
As the fourth-ranking GOP member, Rep. Boehner's duties are officially to act as a national spokesman for House Republicans and coordinate the party's coalition-building efforts on major issues. Informally, though, he's responsible for generating political action committee contributions to the party.
Despite his reputation as an advocate of clean government, Rep. Boehner's hands have been soiled by fund-raising excess. In 1995 he was criticized by Democrats for handing out tobacco PAC checks on the House floor, an activity sometimes practiced by previous House leaders. Giveaways on the floor were subsequently banned.
Rep. Boehner's biggest political misstep occurred in July, when he reportedly joined Rep. Armey and Majority Whip Tom Delay in an aborted attempt to overthrow Speaker Gingrich.
Though other plotters fingered Rep. Boehner as a co-conspirator, he denied the charge. Still, his standing was diminished both with Rep. Gingrich and with GOP conservatives, who argue the speaker is too willing to compromise with Democrats on key issues.
Few predict the squabble will affect his financial modernization duties, however. "I doubt it will have any impact," Mr. Yingling said. "The turmoil seems to have died."
