Miller Assumes Udall’s Post as Panel Head : Congress: California lawmaker replaces ailing Arizonan. He takes reins of the influential House Interior Committee.

WASHINGTON —  Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), a nine-term veteran of Congress, formally took the reins of the House Interior Committee on Friday from its ailing chairman, Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.), increasing Miller’s influence on issues ranging from national energy policy to federal water subsidies.

While his appointment as acting chairman implies only temporary authority over the panel, few committee members expect Udall to regain full control over the legislative agenda during his final term in Congress.

Both Miller and Udall come from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party but they did not see eye-to-eye on some major policy issues, especially federal water projects to provide irrigation for the parched areas of the West.

“We’re trying to get away from measuring success by how much cement we pour,” Miller once was quoted as saying, indicating his lack of enthusiasm for the Central Valley Project in California and similar federally financed water development programs.

Miller also is a determined opponent of U.S. water subsidies for irrigation of farms with more than 960 acres under cultivation and is expected to push for legislation again this year to close loopholes that allow larger farms to get subsidized water supplies.

Aides said that he also will take the lead in developing a new national energy policy to promote conservation, enhanced production without environmental damage and more research on alternative fuels.

In a statement after the House gave him responsibility to run the Interior Committee during Udall’s illness, Miller said:

“I accept this challenge first and foremost with prayers for Mo (Udall), a close personal friend and colleague during the 16 years I have served in the Congress and as a member of this committee.

“The committee has a complex and urgent agenda, including a central role in the formulation of a national energy policy that balances production, conservation and efficient use.”

Miller, 45, has been effectively running the panel recently. Udall’s work has been limited by Parkinson’s disease and he was hospitalized Jan. 6 with broken ribs and a broken shoulder suffered in a fall at his home. Udall is 68.

In his first move since assuming his new powers, Miller named a top aide, Dan Beard, to be committee staff director, replacing Stanley Scoville, who was Udall’s lieutenant. Scoville said that he was given new duties as counsel to the panel to represent the Arizonan’s interests while he is recuperating from his injuries.

“Mr. Udall is still chairman--the presumption is that he will resume his full duties as chairman when he returns,” Scoville said in an interview. But other longtime friends of Udall said that they doubt he will be able to take on the full range of duties that a chairman’s job entails.

“The torch has been passed,” one source close to Udall said.

Despite fears of some Udall appointees that they would be purged from staff jobs as part of a Miller takeover, no other changes were made. Members of the committee were expected to discuss its immediate legislative priorities and other business at an organizational meeting next week.

The change was welcomed by several members of the panel, as well as by environmental advocacy organizations that work closely with the Interior Committee.

“Miller is one of the most aggressive members of Congress and this should bode well for environmental and energy issues that the committee has to consider,” said Rep. Bill Richardson (D-N. M.). “George is the Congress’ most effective environmentalist and he will use his new role to solidify that reputation.”

Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the ranking Republican on the panel, said that he was pleased to know that the committee would be able to function with clearly defined leadership in the new Congress.

“I love Mo Udall and respect him deeply but it’s gotten to the point where George (Miller) has to do the job,” Young said.

Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) said that Miller has been a strong advocate and exercised considerable influence as the second-ranking Democrat on the Interior panel so that his assumption of the chairman’s powers probably will not make a big difference.

“As a practical matter, George has been doing a lot of that already,” Lagomarsino said.

Since Miller was first elected to the House at the age of 29 and has been winning reelection recently with two-thirds of the vote, he is considered likely to have a lengthy tenure as chairman when Udall leaves Congress at the end of 1992.