House Rules

COURTNEY'S SUPPORTERS AND FOES AGREE ON THIS MUCH: Nothing would be a bigger boost to his reelection chances than if Congress called for a second sub to be built annually by Electric Boat. It would be evidence that a freshman congressman, contrary to skeptics' assumptions, had acquired savvy and clout in a hurry.

But observers on both sides also agree that Courtney's task won't be easy -- the proof of which is Rob Simmons's experience with the sub issue in the era of Republican congressional control. During his final term, the hard-driving Simmons inched closer to landing the second sub when the House Armed Services Committee authorized $400 million toward its development. But, in the House, an "authorization" is only a first step in the legislative process, the next step being to persuade the House Appropriations Committee to support the spending request before it goes to the full House for a vote and, if successful there, on to the Senate, which then puts the legislation through its own process. The road toward the passage of such a bill is long and, in the case of an expenditure to benefit the economy of isolated communities, often fraught with barriers erected by House rivals who have pet projects in their own districts. Despite Simmons's urgings and support from some key Republicans, the House Appropriations Committee, led by Republicans at the time, didn't take action on his spending request, and the drive for the second sub stalled.

Courtney has compiled a short list of the players in the House to woo, members who will have oversight over the issue of a second sub. Among them is Pelosi. He has aligned himself with her in every battle since he arrived, even voting for her staunch ally, John Murtha, for House majority leader, though it was clear that Murtha didn't have the votes to win. But Courtney says he hasn't had a real discussion with Pelosi about the second sub and that he wouldn't feel comfortable raising the matter with her in a conversation. "She knows about the importance of the [issue]," he says. "There've been e-mails from my staff to hers. And she was asked about it when she was up [in Connecticut] campaigning for me. She told people there that she wanted to be helpful, but, just the same, she was careful not to make a commitment."

In his first month, Courtney has learned just what a puzzle the process can be. "You don't want to rush too fast and make a mistake," he says. He has been listening carefully to congressional elders who, he says, have urged him to avoid risky shortcuts. Bypassing a subcommittee chairman in favor of first courting a seemingly more powerful committee head could be catastrophic. "Move carefully," he says. "Overconfidence is a dangerous trap to fall into around here."

ON A WEDNESDAY IN LATE JANUARY, ready to talk subs and accompanied by his chief of staff, Jason Gross, Courtney is taking a seat in the office of Armed Services subcommittee chairman Gene Taylor. With his tanned craggy face and the shock of salt-and-pepper hair across his forehead, Taylor resembles Jock Ewing, the folksy patriarch of the Ewing family from the old television show "Dallas." "Hi, there," he says to Courtney, smiling, shaking hands.

Their small talk lasts for less than two minutes; then it's down to business, talking second sub. "There're two legs on this for you -- us in Armed Services and then Jack Murtha," Taylor says to Courtney. "With Jack Murtha, you still need to make the case that it's a worthwhile expenditure. He'll give you a fair hearing. He realizes the importance of [the issue]; he's very conscious of it."

Taylor smiles. "And I know you want to know when we are going to have a hearing in [the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces subcommittee] on submarines, right? I can tell you we'll have hearings on subs. I like to have a lot of hearings."

Courtney nods. "That gives me hope."

Taylor raises his palms in a gesture that seems to ask: Anything else?

"If I could," Courtney says, "I think I'd like to arrange for a conference call for the two of us with the press in Connecticut. It would help for them to hear from both of us on what we're all doing on this. They keep score there on anything to do with subs. They read these things like a scorecard. It would help."

Taylor nods. He has lent support to colleagues facing the media before. "I perfectly understand."

Taylor has a piece of advice: "You want to do all this pretty soon before other [appropriation requests] come up," the veteran says. "You don't want to be the last guy to go through the buffet line around here. Going early gives you the best chance . . . and even then, it's never easy."