UPDATE 12-17-2012: Senator Daniel Inouye Dies at 88

Inouye pressured to give up chairmanship

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, is being pressed to give up his Appropriations Committee gavel, critics said, because they don't think he's forceful enough.

Senators, speaking anonymously, said the panel has lost power in recent years under Inouye, 88, who took over the chairmanship after Democrats pressured Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., to relinquish the post in 2008, The Hill reported Friday.

"I love Inouye," one Democratic senator said. "He's just been sort of not there in terms of running the committee. ... We get shunted to the side; we don't get our bills out; we're not forceful about it. I guess that argues for term limits. Sometimes people stay just too long."

Some senators expressed frustration that the Appropriations Committee has become what they consider a rubber stamp for the Obama administration's priorities.

Discussion about whether the Appropriations Committee should have a new chairman is part of a broader debate about whether Senate Democrats should place term limits on committee chairmen, The Hill said. Republicans imposed six-year term limits on committee chairmen in 1995, as well as limiting service as a committee's ranking minority member to six years.

"People are talking about different things," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., declining to discuss Inouye specifically. "I think we're struggling to find a way to make sure everyone can contribute, but it's too early to say anyone is leading anything in one direction. People are just talking."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has resisted imposing term limits on chairmen, telling The Hill "No" when asked if he'd support limits.

Inouye, who experienced difficulty breathing this week and is recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, told The Hill in a statement he appreciated the confidence of the Democratic Steering Committee, which announced his reappointment this week.

"Over the past four years the committee has accomplished a great deal, from enacting the American Recovery Act and the final war supplemental during my first 120 days as chairman to enacting all 12 bills in fiscal year 2012 and reporting 11 of our 12 bills to the floor for the current fiscal year," he said.

---30---

LINK: Statement by Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

“Senator Inouye is larger than life — he’s a giant of the Senate, a true American hero, and I’m honored to call him my good friend and mentor. Dan exemplifies what it means to be a public servant and has fought more for our country and his state than almost anyone I know.  

“He is a highly effective chairman, respected by everyone on both sides of the aisle. He fought back against proposed cuts in the Ryan budget, and in a very a partisan environment, enacted all twelve of his bills for the 2012 Fiscal Year. And just this week, he turned over a disaster relief request from the President into a finished bill to help so many states and families impacted by Hurricane Sandy. These are no small feats.

“It is just cowardly that a colleague would make such outrageous suggestions about Senator Inouye’s tenure, and yet refuse to give their name as the source. It is truly a new low around here and deeply disappointing.

“One of the many things I have learned from Dan is that you always need to keep fighting for what you believe in. He has done that to the highest degree throughout his life and it will no doubt continue throughout his service in the Senate. We need more people in Congress with Dan’s character and integrity, not fewer.”

  *   *   *   *   *

DC: Dem senators attack their ailing colleague (Dec 17, 2012)

Inouye’s political decline started to become visible during a 2010 Hawaii special congressional election, when a split occurred “between Inouye’s supporters and those who want the (Democratic) party to be more independent of Inouye’s controlling grip,” according to the Hawaii Reporter. The intra-party squabble led to a Republican winning a three-way race against two Democrats, including one backed by Inouye.

Ed Case, the Democrat in the race who was not backed by Inouye, has since vigorously pushed for the end of Inouye’s reign.

“There was a time when Senator Inouye — or more accurately, the people around Senator Inouye — on his behalf, or at least statedly on his behalf, would be able to exert a much greater level of what happened inside of the Democratic Party,” Case said in a local television interview in 2011.

“That arose because Senator Inouye was funding the Democratic Party and therefore had the power of the purse…he would facilitate contributions to the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party really became overly dependent on his funding for its survival,” Case added.

Inouye attracted criticism again this year for endorsing Hawaii Rep. Mazie Hirono for a U.S. Senate seat before the Democratic primary had been held, causing some Democrats to “bristle” at Inouye’s persistent control of state politics.

Many Hawaii Democrats defiantly backed grassroots candidate Case , who mounted a strong primary challenge to Hirono and, in effect, to the Hawaii political establishment presided over by Inouye.

“The Democratic primary can be seen as a referendum on Senator Inouye,” Hawaii Reporter publisher Malia Zimmerman said in July.

Case received 40 percent of the primary vote.

Inouye and Hirono celebrated Hirono’s primary victory together August 11 after Hirono received only 57 percent of the vote in what was expected to be a virtually uncontested primary.

  *   *   *   *   *

The Hill: Inouye is pressed to give up his gavel

Related:

Effects on a State After Loss of Senior Senator

Inouye Secretly Hospitalized Since December 6