Inside the Beltway

Hillary’s crowd

“(Obligatory disclaimer: Literally, the first beer to one lucky reader. I’m not buying five thousand people their first beers of the evening. End of obligatory disclaimer.)”

— Hollywood writer Michael Oates Palmer (“The West Wing,” “Blind Justice”), pledging in a political blog that if a supporter of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton “can point me to one decision or vote she’s made in the last four years where she took a stand that went against her best political interests — I’ll buy the first beer.”

Beware the sting

After more than 40 years in journalism, Chuck Conconi, former Washingtonian magazine editor at large and veteran Washington Post scribe, is moving into the public-relations sector and joining Qorvis Communications LLC as a senior counselor for media training, crisis management and reputation — all keys to survival in Washington.

“One of the most valuable assets a PR team can have is a great journalist, and Chuck is that, plus so much more,” says Qorvis managing partner Michael Petruzzello. “Few people know Washington as well as Chuck does.”

Mr. Conconi is the author of two books, “The Energy Balloon,” written with former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall and energy specialist David Osterhout, and “The Washington Sting,” written with Supreme Court spokeswoman Toni House.

Navy dad

Slowly making its way through the legislative mill on Capitol Hill is a resolution recognizing Ireland-born Commodore John Barry as the “Father of the United States Navy” — albeit not the first resolution honoring him with the lofty title.

First, some background. Having gone to sea as a young boy, Barry landed in Philadelphia in 1760. When the British came calling in 1776, he was a captain in the Continental Navy, and as commander of the Lexington captured numerous enemy vessels. Later, aboard the frigate Effingham, he successfully defended Philadelphia from Britain’s invaders.

In 1794, he was the first to be appointed “senior captain” of the newly established U.S. Navy. His final command came aboard the new ship United States (for which he had overseen construction), sailing to the West Indies for the quasi-war with France. He died in Philadelphia in 1803.

To date, the Navy has named four destroyers after Barry — including USS Barry, which has been decommissioned and is moored at the Washington Navy Yard as the Navy’s display ship for the nation’s capital.

That said, this column recalls a previous resolution declaring Barry the father of the Navy, which passed Congress in 1981 and was signed by President Reagan. The resolution was drafted by a proud Irish-American, Frank Duggan, who pushed for its approval while working as a Washington tax lobbyist for the railroad industry.

“I knew we would have a fight with the Department of Defense … if we declared Barry to be the father of the American Navy,” Mr. Duggan said yesterday. “I wrote that Commodore Barry ’is considered the Father of the American Navy,’ got it introduced in the Senate by my old boss, Sen. [Charles “Mac”] Mathias, Maryland Republican … and with the help of Rep. Joe Moakley, Massachusetts Democrat, it got passed in the House.”

“It was a big deal when Ronald Reagan signed it on board the USS Constitution,” Mr. Duggan recalls. “After it was signed, our [Ancient Order of Hibernians] Division — Commodore John Barry Division No. 1 in Washington — had a reception in the Senate, and presented a copy to House Speaker [Thomas P.] Tip O’Neill. It was a grand evening, and Tip loved every minute of it.”

Leaking sealant

Seal coating — the black, shiny surface found coast to coast on parking lots and other asphalt pavement — will come under the congressional microscope today.

Recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) tests determined the coal-tar substance to be a significant and previously unrecognized source of highly elevated concentrations of a toxic hydrocarbon that is suspected of being a human carcinogen.

The sealant is already known to be toxic to aquatic life, according to the Alexandria-based Water Environment Federation, which points to loss of species and decreased numbers of organisms downstream from sealed parking lots in Austin, Texas, where tests were conducted.

USGS scientist Peter Van Metre, city of Austin biologist Mateo Scoggins and representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency will testify this morning in the Rayburn House Office Building.

• John McCaslin, whose column is nationally syndicated, can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.