USA: Democrats set to take control of U.S. Congress, plan ambitious 100-hour agenda

In a Rose Garden ceremony Wednesday (January 3), President Bush welcomed the new members of congress to Washington and told reporters he looks forward to working with the new congress. "We have important things to do. It's time to set aside politics and focus on the future," the president said. But republicans are already complaining about their minority status in Congress. Chairman of the Republican Conference, Adam Putnam (R-Florida), says, "The committee process is being ignored, the opportunity for members to offer amendments is being denied." Speaker-Elect Pelosi, who has promised to run an open house, is now pledging an ambitious agenda over the first 100 hours in office, that would forgo full hearings, debate and amendments. The legislative push includes proposed changes to the ethics process, including a ban on all gifts, meals and travel paid by lobbyists. Democrats also want to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25, cut interest rates on student loans and cut billions of dollars in subsidies to big oil companies. Julian Zelizer, history professor at Boston University says, "Democrats still think that domestic issues are their strength and a republican weakness. I think you'll at least see more discussion, if not more legislation result, because democrats control the hill." Perhaps the two biggest issues that brought democrats into power were ethics issues and the war in Iraq. In the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday, peace activist, Cindy Sheehan and a group of her supporters stopped a democratic press conference, with calls for investigations into the war. Sheehan told reporters, "Our leaders who get us into these messes are the ones who need to be held accountable." Zelizer believes protests like this will translate into more congressional hearings on the war. Zelizer says, "I think there is some sympathy in the leadership to investigating these issues because they sense voters care and there's been enough concern to follow through on those areas." He says he expects to see hearings on everything from the start-up to the war, to torture and wire-tapping.

ITN Source | January 4, 2007

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