House Appropriations Committee Staff Biographies

James W. Dyer
Staff Director, Clerk

Dyer, 56, describes himself as a card-carrying conservative, but hard-liners have been questioning those credentials for years. As the staffer charged with shepherding the 13 appropriations bills through the House, Dyer has had to say no to various interests-including conservatives who want to add controversial legislative riders to the must-pass bills. So how does Dyer sort out the competing demands confronting the committee? "Give me 218 votes," he said, "and I'll do whatever you want." Dyer particularly became a target last fall, when then-Appropriations Chairman Bob Livingston, R-La., launched an ill-fated bid for the House speakership; conservatives sounded the alarm that Livingston might take Dyer with him to the Speaker's office, but Dyer said he hoped to stay on the committee. Conservative criticism aside, other Appropriations-watchers believe that Dyer has performed well under difficult circumstances. "When you work on the Appropriations Committee," said one source, "you have to be pretty pragmatic." Although he is a 19-year veteran of the committee, Dyer is among a new breed of Appropriations staffers who are open to dealing with the news media. A Scranton, Pa., native and University of Scranton graduate, he has served as an assistant secretary of State, a deputy assistant for legislative affairs to President Bush, and director of governmental affairs for Philip Morris Cos. Dyer's broad range of experience has paid off: He's described as a great networker with sources all over town to draw upon when he's working on a tough project.

John Mikel
Staff Assistant

Mikel, 50, is the quintessential old-generation Appropriations staffer who prefers to remain as anonymous as possible. He is recognized as the committee's budget-process expert and has been described as a "consummate institutional-type guy, as apolitical as they get." Mikel's emphasis, according to one Republican source, is on getting appropriations bills through the legislative channels, not participating in the politics behind the measures. A native of McAllen, Texas, he graduated from Iowa State University and worked for the Army Corps of Engineers from 1971-87. He joined the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee staff in 1987, remained on board following the GOP takeover in 1995, and since then, has been part of Dyer's inner circle.

Charles R. Parkinson
Staff Assistant

Parkinson is one of the House appropriators' best weapons for dealing with their Senate counterparts. He has a keen awareness of the ways of the other chamber, thanks to a stint from 1983-86 as majority clerk to the Senate Treasury-Postal Appropriations Subcommittee, and is said to be particularly useful during final House-Senate negotiations over spending bills. Parkinson, 50, is also adept at working with the Appropriations subcommittees because of his former Senate job. A McLaughlin, S.D., native who has graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of South Dakota, Parkinson also previously served as a legislative assistant to former Rep. James Abdnor, R-S.D.; as a staffer on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee; and as an associate commissioner in the U.S. Customs Service. He describes himself as the committee's "utility man" who tries to "keep the river between the banks." Others call him an "institutional guy" who is good on detail work, is close to Dyer, and has an ability to "cool down" tense situations.

Henry E. "Hank" Moore
Clerk, Agriculture Subcommittee

Moore had big shoes to fill last year when he took over for highly respected Agriculture Subcommittee Clerk Tim Sanders, who retired. But a key Democratic staffer said that Moore is doing a fine job, except when the House Republican leadership interferes in the subcommittee's operations and priorities. Moore, 51, describes himself as having spent his life "as a budgeteer." A St. Louis, Mo., native and graduate of St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., he came to Washington in 1976 as a budget analyst for the Food and Drug Administration. Four years later, he became the House Appropriations staffer in charge of FDA issues. He's been with the committee ever since, working on agriculture from 1981-85, on computer operations in 1986, and on the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee from 1987-98. Moore says that since his first stint in the early '80s working on agriculture spending issues, "Congress has changed stupendously" because of the high turnover of members.

James Kulikowski
Clerk, Commerce-Justice-State Subcommittee

Kulikowski, 45, is known for his intensity and can often be seen pacing the Capitol's hallways. One of the few attorneys on the staff, he is a budget law specialist, has a thorough understanding of how the House operates, and can be extremely hard-nosed during pivotal negotiations, according to Appropriations-watchers. "He truly is smarter than everybody else," one source said. Indeed, Kulikowski's undergraduate, graduate, and law degrees are from Harvard University. A native of Northampton, Mass., he worked as a private attorney and as an aide on the House Small Business Committee before joining the Appropriations Committee staff in 1982. When Democrats controlled the House, Kulikowski was the full committee's minority staff director under then-ranking member Joseph M. McDade, R-Pa. But when Republicans assumed control in 1995, McDade did not get the Appropriations chairmanship because he was under indictment-and Kulikowski did not get the majority staff director's job. During the past few years, Kulikowski has had his work cut out for him: The Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill has often bogged down over controversial issues such as census sampling and the dues owed to the United Nations.

Kevin Roper
Clerk, Defense Subcommittee

Most Appropriations subcommittees have small staffs, but Roper's panel controls about half of all the discretionary spending in the federal budget and thus has more aides than the others. Roper, therefore, is much more of a manager than is the typical subcommittee clerk. He is described as intense and "smart as hell," and is said to know his huge Defense appropriations bill "inside and out." A Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., native, Roper, 43, joined the committee staff in 1984 after serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1978-84. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and holds a master's degree from Princeton University. One Appropriations-watcher described Roper as "first and foremost" a Defense Department guy, adding that he occasionally is "more interested in a DOD solution, rather than the committee solution." Traditionally, Roper's subcommittee has been more bipartisan than most; former chairman C.W. "Bill" Young, R-Fla., worked closely with ranking member John P. Murtha, D-Pa., as does current Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.

James Ogsbury
Clerk, Energy-Water Subcommittee

Ogsbury, who at 40 is one of the younger top Appropriations aides, has succeeded in producing annual Energy and Water spending bills that have had little trouble passing the House. He attributes the success to "pretty expansive member interest" in the measure. Critics, however, often deride the bill as bursting with pork projects. Ogsbury, a native of Nogales, Ariz., is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a law degree from Arizona State University. He was a private attorney in Phoenix before joining the committee staff in 1989. He left between 1992 and 1994 to serve as the federal relations manager for the Salt River Project, a major Arizona utilities company, and rejoined the committee staff in 1995. Since then, he has worked for three subcommittee chairmen: then-Reps. John Myers, R-Ind., and McDade, and now Rep. Ronald C. Packard, R-Calif.

Deborah Weatherly
Clerk, Interior Subcommittee

Weatherly, 45, was one of three women who became Appropriations subcommittee clerks when the Republicans gained control in 1995-the first time that women have held that position. Weatherly said it took a while for women to earn the respect of senior male Appropriations staffers, but she added that working for the veteran McDade helped. Weatherly worked in McDade's personal office beginning in 1977, and eventually became his chief of staff, before joining the committee staff in 1995. She is an Arlington, Va., native and a graduate of Lynchburg College, and is described as a "mediator" and a "facilitator." She has gathered an extremely diverse subcommittee staff, ranging from biologists to former Office of Management and Budget staffers.

Anthony McCann
Clerk, Labor-HHS Subcommittee

McCann's job is "one of the two toughest on Capitol Hill," according to a Republican aide, who added that "it would be the easiest thing in the world to be depressed if you're Tony McCann." Another Appropriations source said that "Tony has been whipped around by forces beyond his control. He's been very frustrated by it." Why all the angst? McCann has been in the hot seat since the Republicans took control of the House because he writes the massive appropriations bill that covers the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education departments-a bill that is loved by most Democrats, hated by most Republicans, and always contentious. He has also had to walk a fine line between the demands of conservative Republicans and those of his moderate boss, Rep. John Edward Porter, R-Ill. But McCann, 55, apparently takes this all in stride: He concedes that his job has been difficult, but describes his management style as relaxed. And he said that while he keeps an eye on the constant jockeying among various House GOP factions, "I don't think it's my job to advocate for them." Before joining the Appropriations staff in 1995, McCann served on the Senate Budget Committee staff, as an assistant secretary and chief financial officer at HHS, and as an instructor at Georgetown University. McCann, a Silver Spring, Md., native, is a graduate of Lake Forest College and has a master's degree from Syracuse University.

John Blazey
Clerk, Transportation Subcommittee

It's been a rough couple of years for Blazey's subcommittee because House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster, R-Pa., has succeeded, through a series of maneuvers, to gain control of a great deal of discretionary transportation spending. Sources indicated that Blazey, 35, has been frustrated by Shuster's victories. Appropriations-watchers describe Blazey as extremely bright and adept at understanding complex problems. Like several other Appropriations staffers, Blazey once worked for the Senate Budget Committee. A native of Palmyra, N.Y., and graduate of St. Bonaventure University, he also worked at the Education Department and OMB before joining the committee staff in 1991.

Frank Cushing
Clerk, VA-HUD Subcommittee

Cushing is said to be one of the top Appropriations clerks, and he apparently has won this distinction without a lot of bluster: He is described by his colleagues as "gentle." He is particularly praised for his expertise on environmental issues (the Environmental Protection Agency is under his subpanel's jurisdiction). Appropriators also rely on Cushing, 47, for his knowledge of the Senate, where he worked during the 1980s and early 1990s. He was an aide to then-Sen. James McClure, R-Idaho; the clerk of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee; and the minority staff director of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Cushing also served as vice president of federal affairs for the Coastal Corp., a Washington-based energy holding company, before joining the House Appropriations Committee staff in 1995. He is a native of Boise, Idaho, and a graduate of the University of Idaho.

R. Scott Lilly
Minority Staff Director, Clerk

Lilly, 52, is a House veteran who has an uncanny ability to play both sides of the fence. He maintains a good relationship with the committee's Republican majority and particularly with Dyer. In fact, one GOP source praised Lilly for his "solid ability to put Humpty Dumpty back together again." At the same time, Lilly is described as extremely partisan, and he aggressively represents the interests of liberal ranking member David R. Obey, D-Wis. Lilly's role has been enhanced by the Republicans' need to pass last-minute omnibus spending measures, because it puts both him and Obey in the room during pivotal negotiations. A native of Springfield, Mo., and graduate of Westminster College, Lilly was the Central States coordinator for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign and then the director of campaign services for the Democratic National Committee. He signed up for Obey's personal staff in 1985, and next served as the executive director of the Joint Economic Committee and the House Democratic Study Group before joining the Appropriations staff in 1994. Since then, he's developed a great loyalty to the committee. "If you have a good Appropriations Committee and it does its work well," he said, "you're on the way to having a good Congress. I feel very protective of the Appropriations Committee."

Gregory Dahlberg
Minority Staff Assistant

Republicans are so impressed with Dahlberg that one GOP source said he wished Dahlberg would leave the minority side so the majority side could hire him. Dahlberg, 47, not only has the "green eyeshades" skills of an Appropriations aide, he also understands the way that Congress operates at large, said a source. Dahlberg's main job is to serve as minority clerk for the Defense appropriations bill, although he also handles the Legislative Branch appropriations measure. Dahlberg said he supervises the latter bill-which he noted can become "political very quickly"-so that he can look over the shoulders of GOP aides. At times, Dahlberg has to referee disagreements between Obey and Murtha over defense spending. But Dahlberg downplays the differences between the two Democrats, saying, "It's not as big of a problem as it could be." The Lake Andes, S.D., native has an undergraduate degree from Luther College and a master's degree from American University. Before joining the committee in 1989, he worked as a program analyst for the Transportation Department.

Delacroix Davis
Minority Staff Assistant

A 22-year veteran of the committee, Davis has handled a myriad of funding bills. Currently on his plate are the Interior appropriations bill and part of the VA-HUD bill, although the Interior bill is his "first love," said an Appropriations-watcher. During the 104th Congress, Davis, 49, had the daunting task of managing three spending bills-the VA-HUD, Interior, and Agriculture bills. The past few years, he has had to adapt to a more-open appropriations process-and to being in the minority. Colleagues describe him as very strong in the mechanics of appropriations accounts and as an expert in parliamentary procedures. Others describe the Alamosa, Colo., native as a Democratic partisan who has an "edge," and as the "brightest guy [the Democrats] have." Before joining the Appropriations staff, Davis spent five years working for executive branch budget offices. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and a master's degree from George Washington University.

Mark W. Murray
Minority Staff Assistant

One Republican aide called Murray, 47, the "best foreign policy guy [Democratic appropriators] have." An 18-year veteran of the committee, Murray has worked on the Military Construction, Foreign Operations, Commerce-Justice-State, and Energy and Water appropriations bills. Appropriations-watchers say he's well-versed in House procedural matters and, at the same time, very good at seeing the "big picture." He currently handles the Foreign Operations spending bill, a role he said means he must "know a little bit about a lot of issues." Murray acknowledged that work on the measure has been difficult because Congress has not passed a foreign assistance authorization bill in several years-meaning that the Appropriations Committee has had to grapple with such contentious issues as assistance to international family-planning organizations. Before joining the committee staff, Murray served as a program analyst with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He is a native of Camp Lejeune, N.C., and has an undergraduate degree from Hobart College and a master's degree from Syracuse University.