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Several years ago, Republicans succeeded in renaming Washington National Airport after Ronald Reagan. Now they're going after something bigger -- or maybe smaller. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., and more than 80 Republican House members have introduced legislation (H.R. 3633) to place Reagan's face on the dime.

Placing conservative icon Reagan on the dime would require removal of Democratic icon Franklin Roosevelt from the coin, though an aide said Souter is willing to compromise and allow some sort of rotation between the two. Cosponsors include the top tier of House GOP leaders, including Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. And the bill includes 19 clauses after "Congress finds as follows." The bill states that Reagan's mug should be on the dime "in honor of his work in restoring American greatness and bringing freedom to captive nations abroad."

In "dear colleague" letters written to House members, Souder placed the headline "Win One for the Gipper" above the text. And he explains that when Reagan was shot in an attempt on his life, the president was "wounded under the left arm by a bullet that had ricocheted and flattened to the size of a dime." So that's the reason why Souder chose the dime.

Of course, there's a reason why Roosevelt's picture is on the dime, too. The "March of Dimes" Web site explains that in 1938, Roosevelt established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Comedian Eddie Cantor then began using the term "March of Dimes" -- as a takeoff on the newsreel the "March of Time" -- in fund-raising effort for the organization, urging people to send dimes to the White House. The national foundation officially changed its name in 1979.

So, Souder might encounter some opposition to his bill from disability advocates as well as Democrats. Presumably, it could pass the Republican-heavy House, but it would have to go the floor under a closed rule. If not, members from New Jersey could try to put Bruce Springsteen on the coin, folks from Illinois might try Michael Jordan and any member could try to honor his or her Aunt Sadie.

And even if it succeeded in the House, Senate passage would be unlikely because Republicans hold a one-vote majority and Democrats would be certain to filibuster the measure.

Of course, the dime is not the only thing Republicans want to name after a well-known Republican. Freshman Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., has introduced a bill (H.R. 2661) to name the new Capitol Visitors Center after the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. It would be safe to bet your life savings that this sucker goes nowhere: If Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., lost his leadership position simply for saying something nice about the former segregationist presidential candidate, few folks outside South Carolina are likely to support etching Thurmond's name onto a huge building designed to welcome tourists to the Capitol.

And Congress-watchers may remember that after Republicans took over the House in 1995, then-House Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon, R-N.Y., placed the portrait of former Rules Chairman Howard Smith, D-Va., in the committee room. The Congressional Black Caucus immediately protested, saying that Smith had bottled up civil-rights legislation for years, and Solomon ultimately relented and removed the portrait. If the caucus protested placement of a segregationist's portrait, what will African-Americans do if Congress tries to name a building after Thurmond? (By the way, guess whose picture Solomon put on the wall when he removed Smith's? Ronald Reagan's.)

Capitol watchers could ask what members of Congress are doing trying to name buildings and coins when they have not yet fulfilled their one constitutional duty: passing the annual funding measures that pay for the government services we all enjoy. But then, such an observation would be dismissed as sour-grapes commentary from the always-cynical press.