Decades Later, Back to the Hill
WASHINGTON—After more than three decades away, Rep. Rick Nolan returned to Congress this year from Minnesota to find some big changes. Aides no longer produce the weekly newsletter on a mimeograph machine. Letters are typed on computers, instead of IBM Selectric typewriters. This time around, Mr. Nolan totes an iPhone. But the technological advances pale in comparison to the institutional changes that have transformed the House, in Mr. Nolan's view, from a collegial hive of busy committees to a polarized battleground.
While many lawmakers have said Congress has lost its congeniality amid a rise in partisanship, few have witnessed the changes quite like Mr. Nolan. As a young father of four, the Democrat served three terms in the House, from 1975 until 1981, before departing for the private sector. Now 69 years old and a grandfather to 10, Mr. Nolan returned to Congress in January after 32 years—the longest gap on record between congressional terms—to represent the district in northeast Minnesota that includes Duluth, Brainerd and Chisholm. The intervening decades have altered how lawmakers spend their days and what legislation they produce, said Mr. Nolan, who refers to himself at times as "Rick Van Winkle." During his first stint, lawmakers largely lived in Washington and got to know each other as they hashed out bills in committee. Now, with the cost of elections escalating, they spend more time fundraising and less time legislating.
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For Mr. Nolan, his decades in the private sector, where he ran a saw mill and wood-pallet factory, among other jobs, have changed his approach to Washington. So has his changed status from subcommittee chairman to a member of the minority party. In his first stint in Congress—when Democrats controlled the House—Mr. Nolan concentrated more on crafting legislation, such as a program to help rural communities and farms that then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law in 1980. Now, with Democrats in the minority and the parties logjammed over major policy issues, Mr. Nolan has focused on wringing assistance out of the federal government where he can.
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He is also trying to pass legislation, though that effort faces long odds. Mr. Nolan said he is disheartened by how much time lawmakers spend raising campaign money. His first bill would effectively repeal Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that struck down limits on political spending by corporations, labor unions and other groups. Many Republicans, however, argue that the Citizens United court case upheld constitutional rights to free speech and oppose attempts to overturn it.
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