5 women, huge power: can they keep the US out of the financial crisis?

This year, for the first time in history, the four leaders of the two Congressional Budget Committees are women.

WASHINGTON. They are now among the most powerful women in Congress. But when they were first elected in the 1990s, they were often ignored or even treated condescendingly.

Rep. Kay Granger, Texas recalls that the men avoided asking her questions, instead turning to the other men in the room. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, of Conn., says a male colleague once challenged her at a hearing to describe a military tank engine made in her area without looking into her records. (She replied, “Damn it, I can!”)

Senator Susan Collins, of Maine, says that one of the first times she presided over a committee hearing, she looked around the room and realized she was the only female senator. Senator Patty Murray, of Washington, recalls sitting on the far side of the committee platform with higher-ranking officials making decisions in the middle.

“I remember, finally, I just stood at the end of the table and said: “Sorry!” Because you couldn’t get their attention,” Murray says. “Everything was decided in the middle of this table. I think it’s pretty surprising that we’re in the middle of the table right now.”

This year, for the first time in history, the four leaders of the two Congressional Budget Committees are women. Granger is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and DeLauro is the top Democrat; Murray is the Senate Appropriations Chair and Collins is the top Republican.

During the first joint interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, joined by Shalanda Young, the first black woman to lead the Office of Management and Budget and a former House aide, the women spoke like old friends, nodding and laughing in agreement. when we listen to each other’s stories about how things used to be, and sometimes still are with women.

When they were elected, Collins says, men were automatically accepted as soon as they entered Congress, but women still had to prove themselves. “That extra barrier that definitely existed still exists to some extent, but much less than before,” Collins said. “Women bring different life experiences and different points of view. And that’s why it’s important.”

The women said their camaraderie, friendship and willingness to cooperate will be critical as they take on the huge responsibility of keeping the government running and staying open — an annual task that will be even harder this year as conservatives in the new majority of the GOP House of Representatives insist on it. significant spending cuts, and the US is at risk of default. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, only took office after agreeing to several demands from these far-right members, creating a dynamic that could prove dangerous to negotiations as Congress must raise the debt ceiling in the coming months.

“It’s a moment in time,” DeLauro says. “You’re really looking at the five women who control the most powerful levers.”

However, she says, “None of us has our heads in the sand. We know we’re in for trouble.”

Granger is in the most difficult position as she struggles to balance the demands of the GOP House conference with her own responsibility to keep the government running. According to her, there is another important task ahead – to explain what the appropriators are doing with the public. While rarely in the spotlight, the committees are the beating heart of Congress, drafting “mandatory” bills that keep the government running. Decisions about the level of funding for almost everything the government pays for—from the military to health care, food safety, and federal highways—go through the hands of appropriators.

Asked about the challenge ahead, Granger says “deadlines are very important” when communicating with the Republican conference. She said there would come a time when she would have to say to her GOP colleagues, “That’s when everything has to be final.”

Another key to the talks will be Young, who is the former Democratic director of staff for the House Appropriations Group and has had close relationships with all four women since becoming OMB director at President Joe Biden’s cabinet level. According to her, DeLauro and Granger gave her a baby shower before she gave birth to a daughter in 2021, and “this relationship cannot be replaced.”

Young’s relationship was helpful late last year as lawmakers worked to pass a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill that funded federal agencies through September and secured another significant round of military and economic aid to Ukraine. However, signaling potential problems, Granger did not sign the final bill as the GOP leadership refused.

Young joked that the four legislators probably wouldn’t invite another OMB director for an interview. Murray agreed, saying she responds to their calls and texts immediately, “and this is new to me.”

The women gathered in Murray’s office, an enviable location on the west front of the Capitol overlooking the Washington Monument. It was once the territory of Senator Robert Byrd’s legendary appropriator, DW.Va. Murray recalls that when she stepped into the same room immediately after she was elected in 1992—the so-called “year of the woman,” she asked outright for a seat on the powerful spending committee.

As one of the few women in the Senate, Murray immediately won the coveted seat. But she found she needed to establish herself in the old boys club. Thirty years later, she became chair of the commission, replacing retiring Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. She also replaced Leahy as interim Senate, the senior majority member who presides over the Senate and is third in line for the presidency.

In her Capitol office, according to Murray, “there were a lot of men smoking cigars.”

Murray and Collins, in particular, have a long history together. In 2013, they both played a key role in efforts to end the state shutdown. And when they replaced Leahy and outgoing Republican Senator Richard Shelby as committee leaders this year, they immediately issued a joint statement calling for a return to the usual process of passing separate spending bills in a “responsible and bipartisan manner” instead of imposing them all into one massive bill at the end of the year.

Collins said no one on either side of the aisle, in either house, wants to fund the government again with a huge bill at the end of the year. “I truly believe that we can make real progress by working closely together,” she said.

They all pay tribute to their female committee predecessors, including former Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat who served as the first chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and invited new senators to her cabinet for what she called a “seminar.” about the appropriation process so that they can become more familiar with the delicate work of the committee.

In an interview, Mikulski, who retired in 2017 after 30 years in the Senate, says women are “brilliant strategists” who can disagree with political views but won’t let malice come between them.

“I’m thrilled that they not only broke the glass ceiling, but got the keys to the vault,” says Mikulski.

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