Reagan Visits GOP Lawmakers as Highway Veto Nears

WASHINGTON — President Reagan Wednesday paid his second visit to Capitol Hill in nine days, trying to reassert his leadership over House Republicans in the long run, while also campaigning for a short-term victory in a showdown over his promised veto of a popular $87-billion highway bill.

But the President, taking the rare step of courting Congress on its own turf, faces a difficult fight as he tries to repair the political damage of the Iran- contra affair. The trips up Pennsylvania Avenue reflect a new effort to patch up relations with the House and Senate, White House officials and others said.

In the view of Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Reagan has little choice but to play the supplicant on the one hand while also trying to demonstrate that he is in charge.

Seeking a Magician

“He hasn’t got anything else,” the congressman said. “You know, they’re looking for Mandrake the Magician now” to make their problems disappear.

The President’s effort to reach out to Congress contrasts with his rocky relations with Republicans there during the past two years--before former Senate Republican leader Howard H. Baker Jr. took over as White House chief of staff from the controversial Donald T. Regan.

Referring to the animosity that had mounted over what congressmen saw as the White House’s sometimes highhanded and brusque manner, even in dealings with Republican supporters, a senior White House official cracked: “Those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Calls Visit All Business

While the official said that the President’s trip on St. Patrick’s Day to the Capitol for lunch with House Speaker Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat, was primarily a social call, Reagan’s 35-minute meeting Wednesday with approximately 150 House Republicans was business.

“You need to make sure they’re reassured. They’ve been in revolt from time to time, and the purpose was to make sure they know the Administration takes their concerns seriously,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “If you want to read that as a desire to work very closely with the Hill, you wouldn’t be incorrect.”

Rep. Lynn Martin (R-Ill.), a member of the House Republican leadership, said the visit was a clear statement “that the President is back in charge and the President wants to work on legislative agendas. . . . It’s been hard for loyal soldiers when their general is under fire.”

Fate of Highway Bill

But it is far from certain that the good-will gestures will help Reagan make his promised veto of the highway bill stick.

Baker has acknowledged that Reagan chose to ignore his warning that it would be difficult to find the one-third votes in the Democrat-controlled Senate to sustain the veto, which is expected shortly.

Wright said Wednesday that he had hoped Baker, with his extensive Senate experience, would be able to influence the President on such matters.

“I guess some day I’ll learn,” said Wright. “I’ll learn not to take them seriously, not to get my hopes up when they say they want to be cooperative and work together.”

The highway measure includes funds for about 150 “demonstration” projects, which are important home-state plums for many lawmakers and would allow states to raise the speed limit on rural interstate highways to 65 m.p.h.

Says Reagan Holding Firm

Despite Baker’s assertion that the politically popular course would be to sign the legislation, putting aside the argument that it costs $10 billion too much, Reagan appears intent on holding firm and showing that he is willing to stand up to Congress, the Speaker said.

Considering the importance for Reagan of showing he is still strong, the showdown involves a substantial risk, said one former White House official. “It would really be bad for him if the veto is overridden,” that source said. “He needs a victory right now.”

Baker and his new deputy, Kenneth M. Duberstein, who was the President’s assistant for congressional affairs during the first Reagan term, “know a lot is at stake in terms of credibility,” the former official said.

Fields 17 Questions

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said that Reagan was asked 17 questions during his private meeting with the Republicans, dealing with such topics as agriculture policy, the budget and arms control. No one brought up the Iran-contra scandal, he said.

He also said Reagan reminded his audience that, during the previous session of Congress, he received a letter from approximately 150 members of Congress pledging that they would support his vetoes.