New Democratic Congress Agenda

Fregramis · Senior Member

New Democratic Congress Agenda

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Ditto on the not being impressed thing. The only thing I had ever heard about for their "100 Hours" agenda was increasing minimum wage. This morning, I heard something about student loans, and I believe I heard it consisted of raising interest rates, not lowering. My thought was, great! They can't immediately repeal tax cuts, so let's stick it to people who have educational loans.

Student loans that are directly from the government (e.g. Stafford loans) are variable rate, adjusted on an annual basis in July. I haven't checked recently, but I think the rate is a something like 7.15% or 7.65% until July 2007. I will finally have the last of my graduate school loans paid off by end of 2007!

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

From http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,241535,00.html

110th Senate Sworn In; House Votes on New Speaker

Pledges of Bipartisanship

While both the House and Senate were convening at the same time, the divide in the Capitol between the two chambers is often much more than geographic. The House of Representatives, often referred to as the "People's House," operates more with arm-twisting and peer pressure than the smaller Senate, which is considered a more deliberative body built on compromise and consultation.

With the House only needing simple majorities of 218 votes to pass legislation, the Senate often must surmount the filibuster-proof 60 vote threshold to pass controversial bills, requiring closer cross-aisle relations than in the House.

Those differing styles presented themselves even before Congress convened as top Republican and Democratic senators appeared before cameras to pat each others' backs while House lawmakers threw around charges of exclusion and partisanship.

In front of a group of reporters gathered near the Senate chambers just after a meeting of Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Reid and McConnell stood side by side and pledged renewed cooperation.

"Sen. McConnell and I believe this is a new day in Washington, that our efforts are going to be to work in a bipartisan basis, in an open fashion, to solve the problems of the American people," Reid said.

"I think Harry's got it right. This opportunity we had in the Old Senate Chamber was a chance for many of our members to express some of their quiet frustrations that we get past the level of partisanship that we've witnessed in recent years and develop stronger personal relationships, as well as work across party aisles," McConnell added.

Saying they would work on a number of issues including ethics and lobbying reform and the Iraq war, the two then walked away from the microphones, Reid chatting into McConnell's ear and resting his hand on the Republican's shoulder.

On the House side, members did their part to pledge cooperation, but those claims were clouded by Republican charges that Democrats already aren't living up to their campaign promises.

"I think they're getting off to a bit of a rough start," said incoming House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio

"In 1994 when we took control of the House, 12 years ago, it wasn't that — we wanted to treat Democrats the way we had asked to be treated. And, frankly, that's what we did. What we really expect out of the Democrats is for them to treat us as they would like to have been treated," Boehner said.

But he added, "Republicans on Capitol Hill want to work with Democrats to deal with the issues that the American people sent us here to deal with."

A few minutes later, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland called Boehner his friend and denied that his party was trying to shut down Republicans in the first 100 hours of Congress, the time frame Democrats imposed on themselves to enact a list of changes.

"I don't think we want to shut them down in the first 100 hours. What we want to do in the first 100 hours is do exactly what we promised the American people that we would do and that we debated over the last six months," which includes the ethics and fiscal reform, homeland security changes, increasing the minimum wage and other changes.

"First 100 Hours"

Leading up to the opening session, Democrats this week distributed the latest outline of their "first 100 hours" agenda, which puts ethics and open government reforms at the top of their priority list to accomplish. The agenda also includes adopting the remaining recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, raising the minimum wage, promoting stem cell research and renewable fuels while ending what Democrats saw as giveaways to the energy industry, and reducing Medicare prescription prices and student loan costs.

Over in the Senate, Reid said the first change of the new session will be a five-day work week, up by an average two days per week over the last session. He said that he and McConnell would be co-sponsoring the Senate counterpart to the ethics legislation planned to move in the House.

House Democrats are expected to introduce a sweeping package of ethics reforms that includes more limits on lobbying and congressional travel and more transparency on obscure procedures that allow power to concentrate in the hands of a few.

"The first thing, of course, we're going to do as you know is adopt rules which will provide for integrity, civility and fiscal responsibility in the House of Representatives," Hoyer said Wednesday.

Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., the incoming chairwoman of the Rules Committee, which determines procedure for bills going to the House floor, is sponsoring the package. Among other items, it contains proposals to open up debate on lawmakers' home-state projects, known as earmarks but more frequently decried as pork-barrel spending.

"We're going to restore openness, integrity and honesty in Congress, and we'll hand the keys of the government back to the American people," Slaughter said Wednesday.

"The status quo has permitted some members of Congress, with no transparency and accountability, to provide favors to special friends through earmarked special projects — putting special interests ahead of the public interest. The American people deserve to know who is sponsoring earmarks to begin to stop the cases of flagrant abuse of earmarks," the Democratic materials say.

In the House, Democrats now hold a 233-201 seat majority over Republicans — Florida's 13th District is still being recounted. It is enough to muscle through bills without Republican support.

The Democrats' ethics reform plans include:

• Ban gifts and meals from lobbyists and organizations that hire them, and require members of Congress and their staffs to pay market price for tickets to sports and other entertainment events;

• Ban members of Congress from accepting lobbyist-paid or arranged travel; No campaign or taxpayer money can be used to pay for travel on non-commercial, corporate jets;

• Require certification and pre-approval for travel that is paid for by groups that fall outside the lobbying restrictions;

• Make sure time is set aside to read a bill before a vote occurs and prevent members from holding votes open long enough to rally enough support for the bill to pass, a tactic used often by Republican Tom DeLay when he was House majority leader;

• Require earmarks disclosures and members to certify that such earmarks do not benefit themselves or their spouses.

While Republicans complained they were being left out of the discussion, Democrats on Wednesday defended their actions.

"Most of the members of the House of Representatives are on record already on practically everything we'd bring up, because this is not a Johnny-come-lately thing," Slaughter said.

WAGONMAN · Member

Bipartisan, especially to Democrats, means agree to do it my way. If you do not agree with them, then you are not being bipartisan. The whole congress thing has gotten to be a joke. A bunch of blow hards wasting OTHER poeple's money to get into and stay in office.

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

Cat Herder wrote:

Ditto on the not being impressed thing. The only thing I had ever heard about for their "100 Hours" agenda was increasing minimum wage.

Federal minimum wage legislation is a joke. Nothing more than a feel good measure. Most states now have their own minimum wage laws and adjust as they see fit. But the dems want an issue they can use in the future elections so they will waste time and resources on this. Our government is a joke.

lundbaek · Profuse Pontificator

I think the first thing on the agenda of the new Congress will be to overcome the minority of those congressmen who oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants, and pass the Democratic version of the president's proposal. I believe that is S.B.2611. It would give total amnesty to employers of illegal immigrants . It creates two levels of justice: one for American citizens to abide by our laws, and another for illegal aliens whereby they don't have to abide by our laws. And it also protects employers who hire illegals. If S.B. 2611 passes, the next 100 million people become our children's burden, a 'Human Katrina.' a friend of mine called it. If concerned Americans do not disuade the Senate from passing that immigration package, it will accelerate a tremendous influx of humanity into the USA. We can figure of three to four million people added to our country every year. It will not stop illegal immigration; it will encourage it further. And it will greatly increase legal immigration. It should be obvious that the present administration intends in every way to continue facilitating this flood, and the Democrats in Congress will certainly carry the ball. There is no better proof of this than the agreement with Mexico to allow Mexican nationals to opt into the US Social Security System.

Another serious danger of two years of Democratic control in Congress is that they will introduce a lot of dangerous social legislation and social spending. I fear they will try to pass a universal health insurance provision that Bush will sign (in the name of bipartisanship).

I doubt there will be any significant change in the direction of US military policy. Latter Day Gadiantons are in control of that anyway, not the President or the Congress. Congressional Democrats fumbled their first post-election confrontation with President Bush on the future direction of the Iraq war. It appeared to me that Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee bungled their questioning of former CIA Director Robert M. Gates, Bush's new choice for Defense Secretary. They did not elicit from Gates his precise thinking on the war strategy or even to secure a guarantee that the Pentagon would turn over documents for future oversight hearings.

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Okay, this topic has not had a hit for almost 2 weeks...

Here is a new article that is somewhat related: House to Vote Student Loan Interest Bill

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20070117/D8MN5RL80.html

This article seems to be pointing out the tips of the icebergs of the caveats to the "campaign promises". I'll be finished paying my personal student loans by the end of this year, so it will have no effect on me, but it really sticks in my craw that the Democratic agenda is just now revealed to give only the poor a break on interest rates on student loans, but guess what everyone is going to pay increased fees for taking a student loan out, regardless of if you're poor, rich, or a lender.

What do you think about this? And, in an unrelated question (but thinking along the lines of the socialized medicine thread), is it right for the government to guarantee student loans?