WASHINGTON WATCH: GOP ATTACK CONGRESSIONAL `OB'

What was the dominant issue in this year's historic election? If you said the size of government -- especially Congress -- you're right.

"Too big!" shouted the overwhelming majority of Americans. "It sticks its nose into places it doesn't belong!" "Cut it!" "Dismantle it!" "Leave us alone!"

Hated and despised, Congress outpolled even used car salesmen in disfavor, according to post-election polls. Although it may not be the most apt of metaphors, you could say that the elections revealed that many Americans think of Congress as one gargantuan, bloating, menacing mouse (stick with me, I'm going somewhere). And when I say gargantuan, I mean (ital) extremely (unital). Like the Sta-puff marshmallow man in the original Ghostbusters. But hairy and fat, too.

I attempt this metaphor because last week scientists at Rockefeller University announced a blockbuster discovery about gargantuan, obese mice. On the same day, Republicans in Washington announced a blockbuster list of reforms for the U.S. Congress. The similarities between the two announcements are uncanny.

Starting with the obese mice: Research scientists, highlighting a report to appear in next month's scientific journal Nature, announced that obese mice are fat not merely because they eat too much food. It's that they can't stop themselves. A gene, called the "ob", is responsible for sending a signal to the brain when enough fatty food has been eaten. When the "ob" doesn't work, the craving for fatty food is never satiated and the mouse overeats.To cure the obesity of these mice, the scientists corrected the malfunctioning "ob" gene. Presto! Fat mice became slim.

The moral of this story is that scientists didn't focus exclusively on the food intake of the mice to cure their obesity. They attacked the fundamental issue: the defective "ob" gene. Food intake, thereafter, largely took care of itself.

Which brings us to the U.S. Congress, heretofore another gargantuan, bloating, menacing entity.

Congress' craving isn't for fatty foods -- some individual members notwithstanding -- but for power, raw and direct. And how does Congress gain more and more power? It spends more and more of our money! Establishes more complex and convoluted rules! Sends mandates to states about everything from elementary school curriculums to seat belt laws! Holds useless hearings requiring busy Americans to bow before it! The list goes on. . .

Over the past 40 years of entrenched single-party rule, this insatiable appetite for power led Congress itself to grow in size. Numbers of committees expanded. Numbers of subcommittees exploded. Staff size led the way. Indeed, the more subcommittees and staff, the more complex and costly the legislative edicts. This craving and growth eventually turned into a vicious cycle. The more the institution of Congress grew, the more power it assumed. The more power it assumed, the larger the institution needed to be to wield the power.

Which brings us to the questions: Could there be a malfunctioning "ob" gene within Congress? If so, can it be fixed?

These are crucial questions, because focusing merely on the intake of legislative issues isn't enough. Republicans, too, are susceptible to the craving of power and merely replacing liberal causes with conservative ones only changes the face of the problem. There are, after all, plenty of costly and ill-conceived conservative causes, too.

It is by tackling the defects within the institution itself -- correcting its "ob" -- that Congress takes the most important steps in curing itself.

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, led by Newt Gingrich, seem to understand this challenge. How do we know? Last week's Congressional reforms are premised on correcting the institution, not just its ideological bend.

Among the Republican reforms:

-- Three full Congressional committees eliminated

-- Committee staffs slashed by one-third

-- Term limits imposed on committee and subcommittee chairmen

-- Floor debate opened

-- Three-fifths majority required to pass tax increases

-- etc.

In one of the smallest but most significant changes, Republican leaders also announced the end to voting by proxy.

Here's how big an impact this one, simple change by itself could have. In the old days, members often handled their hectic schedules by leaving proxy votes with colleagues so that their vote would be registered even without them being in the room.

By requiring members to be present, however, the new rule enhances accountability. It also will likely cause the number of hearings and bills to plummet. Rather than sprint from subcommittee to subcommittee to avoid missing a vote, members can be expected to cut the number of lower priority committee meetings. Ultimately, eliminating proxies could diminish the importance and role of some of the committees so greatly that it leads to their elimination.

Presto! Just like the obese mice became fit and trim once their "ob" was corrected, so might the Congress.

Nothing is guaranteed, but there is no denying the Republicans have made a valiant start. Maybe there's a new slogan in all this.

It's the "ob," stupid.

Jon K. Rust is a Washington-based writer for the Southeast Missourian.