10 of the most powerful WNY women
Playing by the rules:
Representative Louise McIntosh Slaughter
By Catherine Berlin and William C. Altreuter
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Representative Louise McIntosh Slaughter.
Photo by Catherine Berlin. |
Yes, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter is a coal miner’s daughter, a descendent of Daniel Boone, and a degree holder in both Microbiology and Public Health. She can boast seven grandchildren and a seat in the House of Representatives since 1986. To get a broader sense of Representative Slaughter’s character and influence, however, consider this phrase: Nature abhors a vacuum. If faced with lawlessness, become a lawmaker; where medicine offers no cure, study science; if the process of government breaks down, fill the void with a focus on order and transparency. Representative Slaughter’s current activities have her working eighteen-hour days in Washington to fill that void. She is the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Rules, the committee that controls the flow of legislation in the House, and sets the terms of debate. Explained another way, if a Democratic majority wins this November, she would become the chairperson of the committee, making her one of the most powerful Representatives from New York. Ever.
So how, exactly, did she get interested in politics and science?
Louise was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, at a time of company scrip, strikes, and violence. “There was no law in Harlan,” she tells us, adding that her father talked to his daughters about FDR’s optimism and efforts. Slaughter also experienced the loss of her sister to pneumonia. As her father worked three jobs to get out of the mines and into his own business, Slaughter read voraciously, and pursued science in college, graduated, and worked for a chemical company, eventually marrying and raising children.
In 1970, her neighborhood banded together to try to save a local forest. Their efforts failed, but participating in the process inspired Slaughter to run for office. “I’m a big believer in our political system.Every election I would take my daughters into the voting booth and explain our process,” she says. Slaughter smiles and adds, “This got to be a tradition, and one year after a campaign spent walking the neighborhoods, someone took a picture of my daughters and me in the booth. All you could see were our ankles and shoes. There in the paper for everyone to see: my worn-down heels.”
The smile then passes and one can readily see that current efforts to sidestep the political process have her up in arms. Grover Norquist, conservative activist and former advisor to Newt Gingrich, once enunciated his philosophy: “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”
This sort of disdain for government is anathema to Slaughter, who believes that government is capable of creating positive change. In an effort to safeguard the system against the legislative railroading that both parties have done over the years, Slaughter recently produced the congressional report, Broken Promises: The Death of Deliberative Democracy, which details the dramatic decrease in debate and cooperation over proposed legislation in the House. Bills get introduced hot off the copy machine with no opportunity to propose amendments, and no floor debate on the contents of the proposed law before the Majority leader calls for an up or down vote.
For an illustration of how these tactics can impact Western New York, Slaughter raises the issue of passports to Canada. If such a law is proposed, she wonders if there will be any opportunity for the legislators to consider ways to lessen the negative financial impact that such a requirement would have on border cities such as Buffalo and Niagara Falls. In this 108th Congress, seventy-eight percent of all proposed legislation is a done deal before the copy machine toner is dry. The Rules Committee under her leadership, she assures, would be different.
Slaughter is also sharply critical of adversaries she regards as lacking vision. Of the current administration she observes, “They have nineteenth century minds. They believe they can tell scientists what to think.” This attitude has come at the expense of the prestigious Western New York medical corridor and related businesses. “Genetic studies and stem cell research are the most important developments of recent years and can be used to reduce long hospital stays, rid the world of certain diseases, and change life for the better, but we are sitting on great science. It’s awful to me. ... When the doctors first started performing heart transplants, we heard the same noise we hear today. Now, organ transplants save people’s lives every day and no one thinks anything of it.”
Slaughter believes that given the water, the power, and the highly skilled and technical individuals, and with a return to science, innovation, and a twenty-first century mindset, Western New York is prime for more development.
On the Theatre District, she thumps, “We have sixteen working theaters; not a place outside of New York City has that.” On the Niagara Falls Air Force Base, she thumps even harder. “These guys are the best night flyers in the country. They teach everyone else how to fly. It would have been a tragedy to lose them.Saving the base took everyone working together—and when we cooperate here in Western New York, we get things done.”
When asked about her efforts to infuse federal money into the Broadway Market, her pro-Buffalo enthusiasm is apparent. “We set up funding to promote the famous Buffalo foods, including a website for internet sales. We had plans drawn for a wine cellar to display the region’s vineyards’ products. Canisius was on board to train vendors. We discussed having Corning on hand to blow glass, holding rooftop BPO performances, and having Tops to train people to prepare meals for various ethnic themes ... We were moving forward with this visionary plan when we were asked instead to consider funding the use of the building for an outlet store. I did not think that was the proper use for our federal tax dollars. It did not have the long-term potential the area needs.”
Louise Slaughter’s seniority has enabled her to become a vital member of almost twenty congressional groups. Her effectiveness has earned her recognition from such diverse groups as Women in Film and Video and the National Institute of Health. With possible changes in Congress, she is primed to become an even more powerful advocate for Western New York.
Representative Slaughter blogs at www.votelouise.com/blog and also posts regularly at Daily Kos.
William C. Altreuter and Catherine Berlin are attorneys living in Buffalo.
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