Governing under the influence; Washington alcoholics: their aides protect them, the media shields them

Washington Monthly, Jan, 1988 by Steven Waldman

These congressmen do not exhaust the list. Harold Hughes, an alcoholic who had stopped drinking before joining the Senate in 1970, says that during his one term about ten colleagues sought his help for drinking problems. "And I'm sure there were a lot more who could have used it," he says.

Pleading guilty

But these are examples from the past, you say, replaced by a health-conscious generation more likely to sneak off to the gym to shoot hoops than to a hideaway to do shots. True, the acknowledged alcoholics are gone from Congress (an important reason why they're more willing to discuss their problems), and alcoholism is less visible on the Hill. But there is plenty of evidence that drinking remains a serious problem among Washington's political leaders.

To begin with, there are the statistics. Nationally, per capita alchohol consumption rose steadily from 1960 to a peak in 1981, from which it has declined only slightly. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that alcohol abuse today remains at roughly the same level as it was two decades ago and that 10 percent of U.S. adults are alcoholics. Washington still has the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in the country. "I'd feel very safe in saying 10 to 12 percent of members of Congress are in trouble with alcohol," says Bob Witt, a counselor who has treated members of Congress and staff. N. Burton Grace, director of the Total Health and Education Counseling center, which runs a drunk-driver counseling program for the District of Columbia, says just as many public officials are enrolled in his program as ten years ago. "For us to pretend there aren't members of Congress [with drinking problems]," says former Senator Hughes, "is pure bullshit."

Beyond the numbers there are recent examples. Rep. Charlie Wilson of Texas says he had a drinking problem until 1985, when he stopped. "I drank a lot and I drank every day." Since he went public, he says, two other members of the House have told him they wished they could stop drinking.

Former Rep. Robert Bauman, a recovering alcoholic who left the House in 1980, says, "I do know of members who drank during session. I knew of congressmen who ran open bars." In recent interviews, aides recalled members showing up drunk on the House and Senate floors. Rep. Barney Frank has seen such incidents as well. "There have been a couple of times where people have been obviously drunk on the floor," he says.

Moreover, there are at least six current members of Congress who have been stopped for driving while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol. While driving drunk doesn't mean someone is an alcoholic, counselors say it often indicates a drinking problem. In 1985, Senator Robert Kasten of Wisconsin was arrested after driving through a red light and down the wrong side of the road.

He was sentenced to attend a D.C. counseling program for social drinking. Last June, Rep. Dan Rostenkowski pleaded guilty to drunk driving after doing 70 mph in a 55-mph zone. Rostenkowski, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, had his license revoked.