When Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) last year asked his home-state colleague Rep. Judy Biggert (R) to negotiate a bipartisan agreement on expanded children’s health insurance, the request triggered GOP skepticism.

About a dozen House Republicans wanted to explore a deal but were reluctant to meet with Emanuel, who developed a partisan reputation as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) during the 2006 cycle. Republicans worried Emanuel would use statements made during closed-door meetings as political ammunition, said Biggert.

Other Democratic leaders were not eager to fill in for Emanuel. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suspected that House Republicans did not genuinely want to expand the health insurance program to 10 million children, a proposal President Bush adamantly opposed, said a Democratic aide.

Instead, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) stepped in to handle the difficult negotiation.

Hoyer ultimately didn’t broker a deal, but the episode strengthened his reputation among Democratic leaders as a colleague willing to do the dirty work and bolstered his image among Republicans as an honest broker. This has thrust him into the center of delicate negotiations over intelligence surveillance legislation.

The issue is not a bread-and-butter issue among Democratic voters; it requires familiarity with a blizzard of legal details, and the Bush administration has taken a hard-line stance in the belief it would have the upper hand on a national security debate.

Nevertheless, Hoyer has made steady progress toward an agreement and has helped blunt the GOP charge that Democrats have hampered the war on terrorism by not capitulating to Bush’s demands.

And the Democratic Caucus has remained unified on a potentially divisive issue.

Hoyer’s ability to work with Republicans and security-minded conservative Democrats has added an important ingredient to the debate.

In contrast to his predecessor, former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who prided himself on partisanship and his lack of Democratic friends, Hoyer has worked diligently to build bipartisan relationships.

Hoyer has also cultivated ties to Democratic groups across the political spectrum, such as the Blue Dog Coalition, whose members represent rural conservative districts and who have clashed with Democratic leaders over fiscal matters.

Hoyer’s credibility among Republicans and conservative Democrats has served as a valuable asset to the Democratic leadership and placed him in the middle of this year’s biggest policy debates.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said he has done most of his negotiating on a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) overhaul with Hoyer.

“I just think he’s a trustworthy, shrewd negotiator,” said Rockefeller.

Hoyer’s training as an attorney has proven useful during these meetings and has helped him grasp the bill’s legal complexities.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), chairman of the House Intelligence panel, said that Hoyer has been vital in keeping the Democratic chairmen apprised of how Republicans would react to various proposals — crucial information when the president must sign the bill for it to become law.

Hoyer has helped bring Bush administration officials and Republican leaders closer to compromise by using the relationships he’s built with GOP leaders, such as Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.).