Perriello questions Goode's effectiveness

WASHINGTON - The congressional race between Republican Rep. Virgil Goode and Democratic challenger Tom Perriello is coming down to a debate about effectiveness in the campaign's final weeks.

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In a radio ad released Monday, Perriello draws attention to the fact a congressional information company rated Goode in the bottom ten percent of the 66-member House Appropriations Committee.

Goode, who's been in Congress for 12 years, is ranked as the 7th least powerful member on the committee.

The congress.org list ranked Goode 311th out of 435 House members on the annual list produced by Knowlegis, a company that provides data on Congress to lobbyists and the public.

"With all the challenges we have in Southside Virginia," Perriello said in an interview, "we just can't afford to be represented by an ineffective congressman."

Goode dismissed the rankings for putting weight on fundraising.

"I'm not a big Washington, D.C., fundraiser," he said. "I focus on the district and I think that's where the focus should be."

The rankings factor in fundraising as a way to measure how much clout members have in the eyes of political action committees, said Brad Fitch, CEO of Knowlegis.

The rankings also consider whether the member's party is in power, committee assignments, legislative success and earmarks.

Goode ranked 149th in 2006, before the Republicans lost their House majority in that year's November elections, virtually flipping the entire power rankings list.

"Minority status isn't what it used to be," Fitch said. "It's weaker."

The majority sets the rules in the House, which means Democrats now decide which amendments are heard on which bills and how much money each party gets for local projects, known as earmarks.

Goode has drawn $22,863,700 in 41 different projects for his district, which runs from Charlottesville south to Danville. Projects have included $2.5 million for renewable energy research in Pittsylvania County, $3 million for law enforcement grants across the district, and $2 million for job training programs.

Perriello has argued Virginians would be better off having a representative in the Democratic majority than having Goode - who "doesn't have the clout" - in the Republican minority.

But Goode says electing Perriello would be throwing away a seat on the powerful spending committee.

"A non-member isn't at the table for the decision making and a member is," said Goode, seeking a seventh term in the House.

"We've seen a constant showing of the least production," Perriello said. "Congressman Goode in 12 years has not championed one serious piece of legislation."

Goode points to his work on the Tobacco Market Transition Act, which secured $492 million over ten years for tobacco growers. Many Southside farmers used the money to get into different crops or retire from farming, Goode said.

While Democrats say it would be extremely unlikely for Perriello, or any freshman representative, to get a seat on the Appropriations Committee next year, there are other ways Democratic leaders could help new members. In 2007 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave incoming members, dubbed "majority makers," leading roles carrying bills in the new Congress.