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CONGRESSIONAL MAVERICK

Human rights activist, "Green" Republican, social moderate. About the only label that fits John Porter is nonconformist

by Gayle Worland Photographs by Kenneth Lambert

John Porter's standing joke is that he's more famous in Hong Kong than in Illinois. He makes the wisecrack in nearly every press interview — after all, even a serious guy has to give in to some occasional self-ribbing. And there's good reason the Hong Kong line has become a Porter classic: It's true.

U.S. Rep. John Edward Porter has represented Illinois' 10th Congressional District for more than 17 years. He holds one of the most powerful committee seats in Congress. He represents Chicago's North Shore, one of the most affluent and well-educated districts in the United States. His name is well-known among brain researchers across the country and human rights advocates in Tibet, Burma and Romania — but all bets are off for your average Joe in Decatur, Carbondale or even the Loop.

Porter is not a household name, perhaps, because he is a multidimensional legislator who eludes easy labeling by the press. Conservative? Porter is a self-proclaimed "deficit hawk" who signed the Republicans' Contract With America. He would require that election ballots be printed only in English. Liberal? Porter's opponents in Republican primaries through the years have accused him of not being "Republican enough." He is prochoice, an evangelist for global human rights, a staunch supporter of public broadcasting and a dedicated environmentalist. Independent?'Well, independent-minded. Observers say he is not afraid to cross party lines to cast a vote. He will be a key figure in Washington this summer as details of the 1998 federal budget are hammered out. But it's likely that the only political and philosophical agenda he will follow will be John Porter's.

Seated in his ergonomic chair behind the sweeping, crescent-shaped dais, members of his subcommittee flanking him, the congressman peers over his reading glasses at the somber, suited crowd gathered for today's hearing on 1998 spending priorities. The elegant subcommittee room is decorated with the crests of three federal colossi that rely on Porter and his subcommittee for most every tax dollar they receive: the departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services.

Despite all the fanfare that accompanied the announcement earlier this year of a balanced-budget agreement between President Bill Clinton and Republican leaders of Congress, it is here — in the congressional backwaters of subcommittees — that the nitty-gritty budgeting work gets done. In May, Porter's subcommittee held hearings on spending priorities for the 1998 fiscal year, and it's scheduled to begin markup of the appropriation bill this month.

The Republican takeover of Congress in January 1995 vaulted Porter to the most coveted seat in this room. His chairmanship makes Porter one of the House's so-called "College of Cardinals," composed of 13 representatives who head appropriations subcommittees. For fiscal year 1997, Porter and his 13-member subcommittee determined how $71 billion would be divvied up among government programs such as Head Start, Job Corps, the Centers for Disease Control, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Title I programs for disabled students and the National Institutes of Health. The subcommittee appropriated another $167 billion for mandated, nondiscretionary programs such as Medicaid, welfare and parts of Medicare.

On this bright May morning, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, fresh from the confirmation hot-seat, is defending her department's funding wishes before the subcommittee. Porter wears his customary look of intense concentration.-Pesing occasional questions in a deep, authoritative voice, he possesses the demeanor of the austere but benevolent courtroom judge.

In all congressional business, Porter comes across as "very serious, very balanced and unfailingly polite," says U.S. Rep. Anne M. Northrup, a Kentucky Republican who serves on Porter's subcommittee. "He's quiet but very direct. He doesn't back down from his posi-

16 / July/August 1997 Illinois Issues


Illinois Republican Congressman John Porter

Illinois Republican Congressman John Porter isn't a household name because he's a multidimensional legislator who eludes easy labeling,

tions, but he feels very strongly that every side should be heard."

"If we had more statesmanlike people like Porter, we'd get more done and be a lot better off," adds a Democratic observer, who praises Porter's "non- confrontational style" and work ethic. The congressman has been known to skip celebrity-studded parties promoting his pet causes in favor of meetings with policy wonks to craft the details of legislation. Observers are impressed by the speed with which Porter, who had served on his subcommittee as a minority member when it and Congress were controlled by Democrats, has mastered the fine print of lengthy appropriations bills.

Porter's panel deals with many of the budget priorities advocated by Clinton this year, such as education, student loans and job training, and when it finalizes its appropriations bill for fiscal year 1998 this summer, the subcommittee is expected to have some $8 billion to $9 billion more than last year to work with. The president could hardly ask for a Republican chair more in tune with the administration's own agenda.

"We are dealing with some of the most important programs and initiatives by government that affect the most at-risk people in our society," says Porter. "I'm talking about student financial assistance, the federal government's role in primary and secondary education, job training programs, aid to the disabled, adult and vocational education, public broad-

Clinton could not have asked for a Republican chair more in tune with the president's own agenda.

Illinois Issues July/August 1997 / 17


Porter's elegant subcommittee room

Porter's elegant subcommittee room is decorated with the crests of three federal agencies after him for most every tax dollar they receive.

casting — lots of things that I think are very, very important to people in this country."

Porter is unabashedly straight-arrow, all the way to his emphatic vocabulary, which ranges from "heck" to "darn." Trim and distinguished in his well-tailored suits, he lacks the sharp tongue and flamboyance of some of his better- known Republican colleagues. Despite his rise through ranks over the years, he has bucked the party line on gun control and funds for family planning (he favors both). And Porter, one of some 40 "Green Republicans" in Congress, often aligns himself with left-of- center environmental causes.

"He is not a partisan politician, and that's something very rare today in Washington," says Jamie Ridge, communications director for the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that advocates eliminating the federal budget deficit. "He is someone who will go across party lines to do the right thing."

Porter, 62, is proud of his reputation as a strict fiscal conservative. (He has been honored repeatedly by the anti- government-spending National Taxpayers Union, was cited as a "Taxpayer Superhero" by the Grace Commission's Citizens Against Government Waste and last year tied for first place among all members of Congress on the Concord Coalition's antideficit "Tough Choices Scorecard.") But unlike some fellow Republicans, he says the federal government has important spending obligations; without Uncle Sam's wallet, some critical programs just would not survive.

"Student financial assistance, for example, is something that is a primary responsibility of the federal government," Porter explains in his Capitol Hill office, where the waiting room walls are lined with photos of dramatic Chicago cityscapes. "There is private-sector money there, but the vast majority of funds comes from the federal government." Likewise, biomedical research is not directly conducted by the government, but research projects at academic centers across the country compete for and rely on federal funds. Like public health spending, if biomedical research isn't done by the government, says Porter, "it just isn't done."

Several science research centers —

18 / July/August 1997 Illinois Issues


Mr. Porter

Despite the fanfare that accompanied the balanced-budget agreement, it is in the subcommittees that the nitty-gritty budgeting gets done.

including Northwestern and Loyola universities — lie in or near Porter's home district, but he's also a hero at NIH in Washington and has been honored by Massachusetts' Tufts University, which granted him an honorary doctor of laws degree for demonstrating ''a clear understanding of the difference between basic and applied research and the vital importance of both to the nation's health and economy." The biomedical community "stands in awe of Mr. Porter's leadership," gushes Morgan Downey, executive director of the National Coalition for Research in Neurological Disorders, while making a plea for brain research dollars in a recent subcommittee hearing. The exchange isn't limited to flattering words for the Congressional Record, however; pharmaceutical companies, health care product manufacturers and health professional organizations such as the American Medical Association donated close to 10 percent of Porter's $884,328 campaign contributions for the 1995-96 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance.

Porter's personal and political life changed notably during a 1982 visit to the Soviet Union, where his wife was held and strip-searched by the KGB after the couple had met with Russian dissidents. For a white male from a privileged background, the incident was a startling awakening to the prevalence of oppressive acts

Close to 10 percent of Porter's campaign contributions in the 1995-96 election cycle came from pharmaceutical companies, health care product manufacturers and health professional organizations.

Illinois Issues July/August 1997 / 19


Porter greets Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman

Porter greets Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman. Fresh from her confirmation hot-seat, she defended her budget before his subcommittee.

around the world. For a Washington newcomer, it furnished an identity linked to a meaty cause. Porter is cofounder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus with Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and longtime human rights supporter and the only member of Congress who is a survivor of the Holocaust. "When you come in as a freshman representative and as a member of the minority party, it's very hard to get something to get your teeth into," admits Porter, who today also serves as senior Republican on the House Foreign Operations Committee.

Now in its 14th year, the 200-member human rights caucus has focused attention on ethnic genocide, the trafficking of humans, the torture of children, "disappearances," violence against women and the rights of indigenous people in 111 countries. Its collective clout "plays an important role in consistently raising human rights issues," says Allison Collins of Human Rights Watch. When the caucus sends out a letter protesting an incident of oppression, for example, it carries the signatures of 200 members of the U.S. Congress. "Foreign governments that receive these kinds of letters don't ignore them," she says.

The caucus has heard testimony from someone close to its chairman: Porter's wife. One-quarter Cherokee Indian, a former George McGovern campaign worker and anthropologist, Kathryn Cameron Porter now heads the Human Rights Alliance. She has led human-rights crusades in Kurdis-

Porter is co-founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. The caucus has focused attention on ethnic genocide, the trafficking of humans, the torture of children and violence against women.

20 / July/August 1997 Illinois Issues


tan, threatened hunger strikes to pressure the Guatemalan government and traveled to Albania to help free four Greek-Albanian prisoners. "I think this is a commitment that they share that predates his election to Congress," says Dave Kohn, Porter's press secretary. "It's a lifelong effort for her." At times — when charging Turkey with abuses against Kurdish separatists and calling for an end to U.S. aid to that country, for example — the Porters have proven to be a burr in the side of the White House.

Home of old trees, old money and many of Chicago's new elite, the 10th Congressional District is 86 percent white and boasts a median household income of $50,355. The average home costs more than $180,000, and two out of three adults have attended college, according to the 1990 census. Porter sends his constituents an annual survey with such heady questions as: "Should the government deploy a national missile defense system or opt for 'theater systems' to protect U.S. forces abroad from short-range missiles?" This year, more than 11,500 citizens sent him their responses.

The son of Harry H. Porter, a polio survivor, longtime chief judge of Evanston Municipal Court and later a Cook County circuit court judge, John Porter grew up in Evanston and did his undergraduate work at Northwestern University before earning a law degree at the University of Michigan Law School. He and his wife of more than 20 years met on the political circuit and have raised five children (from one previous marriage each) in Wilmette. While serving in the Illinois House from 1973 to 1979, Porter unsuccessfully challenged the liberal Democratic incumbent Abner Mikva for his congressional seat. But when President Jimmy Carter appointed Mikva to the federal bench in Washington, Porter won the 1980 special election to fill out Mikva's term.

John Porter's Hong Kong fame comes from his stand against human rights abuses by China and his role in creating "Radio Free Asia." He was one of nine House members appointed to the Helsinki Commission and was a delegate to the 1993 Rio summit on the global environment. But in Highwood, Highland Park and North Park, 111., he is most fondly remembered for preserving room with a view.

'"The Porter Legislation,' as we affectionately called it," explains Highland Park Mayor Ray Geraci, required the U.S. Army to hand over 290 acres of open and recreational land on the northern part of Fort Sheridan, a military base closed in 1989, to the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The three bordering town governments — not commercial developers — can now convert the unspoiled habitat into parkland with nature trails, two miles of public beach and an open vista stretching from Sheridan Road to Lake Michigan waters.

"It looked very bleak for a while," since the Army would have hit pay dirt by selling the land to private developers, explains Mark Rooney, once an aide to former Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Simon and now city administrator for Highwood, population 5,000. Throughout the long process, "Porter was very sensitive to the needs of the local community. As someone who came from the other side of the aisle, I was extremely impressed."

Porter used his appropriations clout to make the Army take note, says Rooney, a military veteran. "I think it was very prudent politics on the part of the Pentagon to listen to what he was saying. He balanced so many forces when writing that legislation. I thought it was very masterful on his part."

"The Porter Legislation" illustrates another Porter trait — an environmental streak — that sometimes puts him at odds with his Republican colleagues. Porter would like to see a green plank firmly nailed into the Republican Party platform — not only on principle, but because it's good politics. "Americans don't support stupid regulations, but they sure as heck support a pristine environment," says Porter, who brokered an agreement leading to the privately funded cleanup of PCB-laden Waukegan Harbor. He says he believes Republicans who see environmental protection as "an over- regulation issue" are "taking our whole party down the drain."

Porter mourns his party's drift to the far right on social issues and its drive to cut taxes, which he says will only add to the government's financial woes. "We are here as stewards for the future," he says. "And to the extent that we are not acting responsibly, we are stealing from someone else's future. We have been robbing our children and grandchildren for years and asking them to pay our bills. That isn't fair. And it makes us less able to generate the kind of resources we need to make the economy grow."

Porter's mix of principle and pragmatism may have helped talk himself out of another job. The man who told the Chicago Tribune in 1994 "I've wanted to be president since I was 10 years old" entertained thoughts of — and then passed on — running for U.S. Senate, first for retired Paul Simon's seat and more recently against incumbent Carol Moseley-Braun in 1998. "The linchpin of the decision was effectiveness," Porter explains as he squeezes into a crowded "Members Only" elevator on the way to the House floor. His day has already included a two-hour subcommittee hearing, a reception for the Dalai Lama and an appointment with the Armenian ambassador. "The question is, would being a senator from Illinois make me more effective at influencing policy?"

As is his usual style, Porter carefully weighed the pros and cons of running for the Senate. He calculated the time he would need to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars it takes to win a race in today's cutthroat world of campaign politics — and common sense won out. "It just didn't seem to make any sense to me," says Porter, heading off to cast his House vote. College students, transplant patients and park visitors may never know his name or party affiliation, but for a busy politician already straddling two worlds, being famous in Hong Kong may be fame enough.

Gayle Worland, a Rockford native, is a Washington writer whose work appears frequently in Illinois Issues. Her most recent article, a profile of Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, appeared in March.

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