How would you describe Congress when you were first elected?
You look out at night from under the Capital Dome at the lights in there and the history and wonder how in the world somebody like you ever got there. And, after six months, you’re still looking around wondering how everybody else got there. It was a great thrill to be a part of history with the class that came in with me in 1995. It was the first Republican House in 40 years. It was important to be a part of something. I got a subcommittee chairmanship right off the bat. I felt I was really a part of doing something positive for the country. Over time I think, as it wears on, you start looking at your place and wondering if you can be more productive. But I thought it was a great feeling, something I’d always thought about doing and never thought I’d get there.
What about Congress has changed over the years and what do you think led to these changes?
Well, I don’t really think anything has changed. I think what you realize after awhile though is that on the big issues, Congress likes to punt them. Members and politicians in general are a pretty risk averse group so when you come to a tough question and a tough issue where you’ve got to choose between two unpopular decisions, it’s better to defer it if you can and kick it down to the next Congress or the next administration. And I think after awhile, as I got a better understanding of things, I got a little impatient with the inability of Congress to grapple with what I consider to be significant and big issues.
Do you think that things will improve in the future?
I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if they’ll be better or if they’ll just be different with the new administration in here, but I’m always hopeful. But, traditionally Congress doesn’t act until they have to. We’re very rarely ahead of the curve. We tend to be a reactive institution usually waiting until a problem arises and then generally overreacting to it. I guess that’s just the political nature of things. I don’t know that that will change much, but we do have some significant issues that are staring us in the face right now where I think it’s going to call for some resolution. I think you’ll get that Congress will act in some way on some of these issues. And on others, I think we’ll just be disappointed.
What effect do you think Obama’s presidency will have on the way that Congress conducts business?
Not much, except that he’ll have a Congress under his party’s control and that gives him an opportunity to basically get some things done, at least for the first year or so. That doesn’t mean they will get done, but it gives you an opportunity to resolve some of these issues that have been sitting out there for a long time and have been stuck by gridlock.
Do you think that you will ever go back into politics?
Well, I’ll stay involved in politics in my home state of Virginia. I’ve fought too long and hard to just walk away from it, but I’ll be involved in a different way than being in an elected office. I’ve been in office 29 years. I’ve won 11 elections as a Republican in some of the most Democratic territory in the state. And I would have won again, had I chosen to stay in. But, I’m opting to do something else for a period of time. I’m not very good at being an obstructionist. I’ve had over a hundred bills signed into law, some of them with some significance. I just think I’m personally going to be better off doing something else for awhile. But I may get back in it; you never rule it out.
What would you say has been the high point of your career in the House?
I’ve had a lot of them. One was getting our metro funding bills through and signed by the President this year. The bill will provide funds our metro subway system on capital needs of 1.5 billion over the next ten years. I enjoyed writing the DC College Access Act, which allows DC students to pay in-state tuition to out-of-state colleges; it gives thousands of inner-city kids the opportunity to go to college that they never would have had before. Closing the Lorton Prison, writing the Postal Reform Act … there are just so many things that I’ve looked back on after my career ended that have been very fulfilling. I’ve got enough memories to last me several lifetimes, more plaques than I can know what to do with. It’s been a great big run for me. I’ve got my portrait up on the wall of the government committee where I was chairman for two terms. You want to leave will you’re still on top. I don’t want to overstay my welcome. They usually say that the only cure for “Potomac Fever” is embalming fluid, but I think at this point, given the perspectives that I’ve had in government and the like, from my perspective, it’s just time for me to do something else, for a while at least.