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Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003

Schwarzenegger used his first visit since his election Oct. 7 to plead for additional federal resources to fight what authorities are calling the worst fire emergency in the state in more than a decade.

"We are right now in the middle of the disaster so ... we don't know how long this fire will continue. The most important thing now is that we all work together," the governor-elect said in a Capitol Hill corridor with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and other GOP lawmakers nearby.

The governor-elect began his day on Capitol Hill, meeting with Michael Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He then had a private session with the California Republican congressional delegation.

"He's much more impressive in person than in pictures," said Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Schwarzenegger also was to meet with members of the House and Senate leadership, Cabinet secretaries and leading members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which has jurisdiction over how federal funds are allocated.

"The governor-elect is going to Washington to establish relationships and to build on existing relationships," said spokesman Rob Stutzman. "But given the devastation that is taking place, he is also looking for aid for the rebuilding."

Although he was not scheduled to meet with President Bush on this trip _ they met in California two weeks ago _ he comes representing a state that Bush already has made a major part of his re-election campaign. It is the prime target of any candidate, offering a fifth of the electoral votes necessary for victory.

Schwarzenegger's two-day Washington swing had been planned more than a week before the fires began scorching homes and hundreds of thousands of acres of parched brush and trees, leaving at least 16 dead and dozens injured. Earlier this week, Bush declared a state of emergency in four California counties, clearing the way for victims to receive federal disaster assistance.

Former California Rep. Leon Panetta said Schwarzenegger's visit would be an important measure of his leadership skills and ability to lean on the federal government to deliver on its promises.

"This is an area in which Washington can respond. They have the resources to help people in disasters," Panetta said. "And it's a crisis in which the people of California will determine whether he can do the job, and whether he can make government work on behalf of the people which is what he campaigned on."

© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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