PROUD TO TOW THE PARTY LINE REP. MCKEON ALSO BACKS AREA BUSINESS, MUNICIPALITIES.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon is among the GOP faithful, towing the party line on the war in Iraq and spending reductions.

The 67-year-old Republican lawmaker also has backed his party's more controversial stances on domestic spying and the role of torture in prisoner interrogation, which have put the Bush administration on the defensive in recent months.

``It seems like it always happens in the president's second term,'' McKeon, home for the holidays, said in a recent interview. ``We were sailing along and having a great year. At the end of the August break, we had (Hurricane) Katrina - the administration's response was not good, but people seemed to blame it all on the president.

``It put us on the defensive, and for a few weeks, it seemed we couldn't do anything right.''

This strict adherence to the GOP opens him to attack by critics.

``He votes a straight party line, never deviates,'' said Carole Lutness, chairwoman of the California Democratic Party in the 38th Assembly District said. ``It's amazing that people vote for him.''

Still, McKeon, a former mayor of the city of Santa Clarita, is seen by many as an effective representative in Washington for municipal and business interests. He has funneled millions in federal funds to public projects in his 35th Congressional District, which includes the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

``Most of the City Council finds him pretty easy to work with,'' said Tim Gordon, 48, a local resident for 10 years. ``He's done a lot for Santa Clarita.''

A year into his seventh term in the House of Representatives - he was re-elected in November 2004 with just over a two-thirds majority - McKeon recounted the ups and downs of the past 12 months and what he has to look forward to on Capitol Hill in 2006.

He appeared unfazed about President George W. Bush, whose approval rating is in the mid-40s according to most polls; or by troubles tailing his GOP colleagues, including former House majority leader Rep. Tom DeLay, who faces money laundering charges in Texas, and disgraced San Diego County Rep. Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, who resigned last month amid a bribery scandal.

``In politics, you're not down forever, and you're not up forever,'' he said. ``Fortunately, the election was not this November - it's next November.''

DOLLARS AND CENTS

A senior member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, McKeon counted among his congressional accomplishments passage of legislation that handed federal courts class-action lawsuits with plaintiffs from different states.

Supporters, including businesses, say it would prevent lawyers from ``shopping'' for state jurisdictions that could be sympathetic to their cases, while critics argue that it limits the right of legal redress.

Funds continue to trickle in from Washington under McKeon. From the $286.4 billion federal transportation bill, he got $9 million earmarked for Santa Clarita's Cross Valley Connector, an east-west road linking I-5 and state Route 14, and about $1.6 million to study additional car-pool and truck lanes in the Newhall Pass.

For the Antelope Valley, he obtained $800,000 for a High Desert project to provide new freeway access from I-15 to U.S. 395 and $2.8 million for widening a portion of Rancho Vista Boulevard.

McKeon dismissed criticisms the bill was thick with pork - federal funds pegged to pet projects in a congressman's district. For the transportation bill, he said the money already has been earmarked for California - it's a matter of either allowing Sacramento or Congress to decide where it goes.

``There has been a lot of negative publicity about pork projects,'' he said. ``It's already going to be spent. It's just who determines how it's spent.''

Lutness said McKeon is only throwing money at symptoms caused by unchecked development.

``The fact that we're gridlocked on the roads - McKeon troughs in a couple million for roads, so what?'' she said. ``The whole issue is developers own every level of government. The needs of the people are secondary.''

McKeon also voted in favor of a deficit reduction bill that cuts federal funds to education and social programs, including $14.3 billion cut from student loans.

A contender to chair the House Education Committee next year, McKeon has worked to increase student loan funding. He called the cuts small compared with the $75 billion program, and noted that much of the burden is on lenders, not students.

``A lot of people are raising their tuitions, and that's really the problem,'' McKeon said. ``We've put more and more money in it, and yet, it seems like we can't keep up. The students are caught in the middle. Some schools have listened and have taken steps to cut their spending, and some states have taken back their help.''

Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would funnel $141.3 million into the University of California and the California State University systems, canceling an 8 percent fee hike for undergraduate students, thanks to a better-than-expected state finances.

WAR IN IRAQ

A supporter of the war in Iraq, McKeon attacked Democratic colleagues who have advocated withdrawal.

``They want to cut and run from Iraq,'' McKeon said. ``But I think most people understand, even if they don't agree going into it in the first place, we can't pull out.''

Tucked into the 2006 defense appropriations bill on the way to the White House are $7.4 million in military contracts for three Santa Clarita companies and $13 million for various research programs at Edwards Air Force Base.

That bill, which includes funds for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, stalled in the Senate over a controversial provision allowing oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which McKeon supports. But Senate Republicans could not break a filibuster led by Democrats, so it passed with the measure removed.

``If they can stop things in the Senate with just 41 votes, that's the minority in charge and that's not how it should be,'' McKeon said.

His goals for the new year include a renewal of the Patriot Act, the anti-terror laws for which Bush signed a five-week extension, along with welfare and pension reform. He also is working to re-enact bills for higher education spending.

ON TORTURE AND SPYING

McKeon also took stances that could make civil libertarians wince. He voted against including on the defense spending bill a statement reaffirming the U.S. position against torture, a statement that is backed by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

McKeon said it was only a negotiation tactic while the bill was in conference. Asked whether he supported torture, he said, ``No. However, I also hate to limit our interrogators. If we knew that somebody we just captured had an atomic device (that will detonate), I'd be willing to say do whatever we do to get that information.''

McKeon also backed the White House when news reports revealed that Bush authorized a domestic spying and eavesdropping program at the National Security Agency.

``The president has the responsibility of protecting the American people,'' he said. ``But now they know about it, so probably it's not going to be as successful as it has been.''

These positions drew different reactions in Santa Clarita.

``He should be against torture,'' said Melissa Gray, 38, of Canyon Country, a Democrat.

Tim Gordon, who counted himself an independent voter, was more lenient.

``You got to look at reality,'' he said. ``Reality is war. It's a necessary evil and you better not get caught doing it. ... (But) you got to have a reason for interrogation. You can't pull someone off the street and do torture.''

Nor was he concerned about government eavesdropping.

``You have to (trust the government). It's our government,'' Gordon said. ``If you don't like anything, the only option you have is move.''

Lutness disagreed.

``We live in a very conservative area, and we live in an area where people are so busy and so disinterested,'' she said. ``We're looking at totalitarian fascism if they keep dismantling the safeguards.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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(color) REP. HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON