As Congress term limits taketh away, so do they give

WASHINGTON — No matter which party wins control of the Senate this year, Utah's two Republican senators will lose — their key committee chairmanships, that is.

Orrin Hatch will no longer chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Bob Bennett will no longer chair the Joint Economic Committee.

Both fall victim to limits on chairmanships, but of different types.

Because the Joint Economic Committee has both Senate and House members, its chairmanship rotates each two-year Congress between the two bodies.

Bennett had the good fortune of being its senior Republican senator just as the chairmanship two years ago shifted to the Senate — and as Republicans there had just won back the majority by the slimmest possible margin (51 Republicans to 48 Democrats and one Democratic-voting independent). After this election, the chairmanship rotates again to the House.

Hatch falls victim to a different rule that Senate Republicans impose on themselves but which Democrats do not. Republicans limit their members to serving no more than a cumulative six years as chairman of any committee.

Hatch became chairman of the Judiciary Committee back in 1997 — nearly eight years ago. However, Democrats won control of the Senate (and thus the Judiciary chairmanship) for 18 months of that stretch.

So rules — which allow a chairman's term to go a bit past a cumulative six years only to avoid a change in the middle of a Congress — will terminate Hatch's chairmanship at the end of this Congress in January.

"It's not a rule that I like, but the (Republican) conference supported it — and I can certainly live with it," Hatch says.

When asked if Republicans have seriously discussed rewriting that rule as Hatch and other chairmen face bumping into it, he said, "No. My time is up."

The idea behind such term limits is to ensure that all members have turns at chairing full committees — and to allow somewhat regularly new style and direction.

That will certainly happen in the Judiciary Committee. Hatch — a conservative who patiently tries to avoid confrontation — will likely be replaced by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., a feisty liberal-leaning moderate, if Specter can win his close race for re-election.

"Arlen will win, and he will be the next chairman. He's ready for it, believe me," Hatch said. "He has every right for it. He's served in the Senate for 24 years without chairing a major committee. Arlen and I are friends, and I'm glad he will finally have that opportunity."