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One of Sen. Kay Hagan's first votes in Congress is already drawing fire from fiscal conservatives, who accuse her of flip-flopping on the financial industry bailout.

Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat who took her seat this month, voted last week to release $350 billion that makes up the second half of the bailout funds Congress approved last fall. During the campaign, Hagan said she would have voted against creating the Troubled Asset Relief Program, known as TARP.

It did not escape critics at the time that Hagan voiced her opposition only after Republican Elizabeth Dole, the incumbent she defeated, cast a vote against the bill. And many of those same critics noted Hagan's change in position.

"Senator Hagan is going to have some explaining to do on her first trip home," Brent Woodcox, a spokesman for the North Carolina Republican Party, wrote on the party blog.

But Hagan isn't alone in changing her position. Republican Sen. Richard Burr voted for the original bill, protesting that he really didn't want to. Last week, Burr voted against releasing the money.

Burr spokesman Chris Walker said the original bill was designed to let Congress reassess the money's effect before releasing a second installment.

"We've seen some stabilization of the financial markets but no clearly communicated strategy for taxpayer involvement," Walker said Monday. "Senator Burr felt we needed to better understand the future need, if any, required to improve the economic outlook."

For her part, Hagan issued a statement explaining her change in position this way: "I opposed the initial bailout because I was concerned that it did not do nearly enough to help working families in North Carolina." In a news release, Hagan criticized outgoing President George W. Bush for his handling of the money.

"When I spoke with President-elect (Barack) Obama earlier in the week, I made it clear that I could not support this package without his assurances that the American people would have the accountability and transparency they deserve," Hagan said. "With the assurances I received from the incoming administration, I believe Main Street will be on its way towards recovery."

Other votes

The House passed an expansion of the health insurance program for children, known as SCHIP, on a 289-139 vote Wednesday. The program is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. The estimated $33 billion cost of the bill would be covered in part by increasing the federal cigarette tax from 39 cents to $1 a pack.

Democrats Brad Miller and Mel Watt voted for the bill.

Republicans Virginia Foxx and Howard Coble voted against.

The Senate passed a lands bill that would designate more than 2 million acres as wilderness, mostly in Western states. The bill also designated former President Bill Clinton's childhood home in Hope, Ark., as a national historic site.

Burr voted no. Hagan voted yes.

Lack of credit

You know an economic crisis is bad when Congress can't get a loan.

But even as Rep. Mel Watt considers bailout bills and economic stimulus packages, that's pretty much the problem he ran into at the beginning of this year.

House members can lease cars two years at a time as a perk of office. Watt had been rolling in a Toyota Prius but wanted to give some business to American auto manufacturers, given their recent travails.

"I called a Saturn dealership and said, 'Y'all got a lease program?' They said, 'No, GMAC won't finance our leases anymore,'" Watt said, referring to the financing arm of General Motors. An arrangement with another bank had also fallen through for that dealership.

Watt eventually did find someone to write the lease on a Saturn.

"That shows you this is real out there," he said. "This is the government, the government pays that lease...and you couldn't find anyone to provide the lease to us."

Whips and jobs

Burr got a bump in title last week as he was promoted to "chief deputy whip" for the Senate Republicans. He'll be responsible for helping keep GOP votes in line on occasions where adherence to party orthodoxy is paramount.

Hagan was appointed to the Armed Services and Health, Education Labor and Pensions committees. The Democrat had been hoping for a Banking Committee seat, but more senior senators crowded her out.

The Armed Services Committee is particularly important to North Carolina because of the high concentration of military bases in the state.

lRep. Virginia Foxx will be helping to lay down some rules in the House. She was assigned to the Rules Committee, which helps control the flow of legislation.

About this column

If you've waded this far, a few questions might be coming to mind: "Hey, I don't remember the paper having a Washington feature."

That's because we just fired this one up. Washington Watch will appear Tuesdays, and the idea is to keep tabs on our federal legislators and news from Washington that affects the Triad.

If you have suggestions or questions, drop staff writer Mark Binker an e-mail at the address below.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com