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News of Jan
3, 2007
Democrats Set to Rule Congress,
Confront Bush
By Tony Czuczka
Washington, Jan 3
Democrats, who will rule Congress after 12 years out in the cold,
plan swift challenges to US President George W. Bush's conduct of
the Iraq war and a 100-hour flurry of legislation designed to appeal
to middle-class Americans.
For Bush,
the new House of Representatives and Senate convening Thursday at
the white-domed Capitol in Washington will create an inhospitable
environment during the last two years of his presidency.
For new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 66, it was party time as she
prepared to officially take over as the first woman in the
high-level post.
The Democrat from San Francisco has raised eyebrows with three days
of events celebrating her Italian roots, Roman Catholic faith and
East Coast childhood. US media likened the build-up to a coronation
and interpreted it as a bid to shift her reputation from a
left-leaning Californian towards the political centre.
With Bush's Republican Party reeling from its defeat in November
congressional elections, Pelosi's opening speech Thursday is set to
kick off a critical month for US policy in Iraq.
Bush is expected to present a new war strategy in January, most
likely before his annual State of the Union speech to Congress on
January 23.
He ordered the strategy review after US voters lifted Democrats into
control of both chambers for the first time since 1994 on a platform
calling for an exit plan from Iraq.
Newly empowered to set the congressional agenda, Democrats planned
to begin hearings as early as next week on the administration's
decision-making in the war in Iraq - a stage for likely
confrontation in the months ahead.
Pelosi immediately took aim at Bush over Saturday's execution of
former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, saying "it is not a substitute
for an effective strategy that will bring peace to the region and
allow the responsible redeployment of US forces".
The centre-left Democrats say they are more attuned to the worries
of average Americans than Republicans, who were dogged at the polls
by slumping popular support for Bush and the war he launched in
2003.
Bush still holds broad powers to set foreign and military policy.
And while the Democrats have a 16-seat edge in the House, they won
only a minimal 51-49 majority in the Senate, limiting their room for
maneuver.
Still, with no easy solution in sight for Iraq, the Democrats have
focused their debut primarily on domestic issues.
First on the agenda is legislation designed to limit the influence
of money-wielding lobbyists and interest groups on lawmakers.
Another planned measure Republicans will find hard to oppose is the
first increase in the national minimum wage in a decade.
In the first 100 working hours of the new Congress, House Democrats
also plan to pass measures to promote stem-cell research for disease
cures, expand government programs for old-age health benefits and
student loans, cut Republican tax breaks for oil companies and step
up anti-terrorist security.
"From energy independence to national security, 2007 promises to be
a very busy year, and by working together, there's no limit to what
we can accomplish," said Democratic Senator Evan Bayh.
How much the Democrats achieve depends not only on the Republican
opposition and Bush's veto pen, but also on how the 2008
presidential campaign plays out in the US legislature. Two top
likely contenders for the Democratic Party's nomination - former
first lady Hillary Clinton and rising star Barack Obama - sit in the
Senate.
Pelosi's schedule before her swearing-in as House speaker included
stops in the working-class neighborhood of Baltimore, the city 65 km
northeast of Washington where her father was mayor; a Mass at the
women's college where she studied; and dinner at the Italian Embassy
in Washington.
The festivities met with sarcasm in conservative circles.
"What? No fireworks?" Mike Murphy, a Republican political
consultant, told the Washington Post.
DPA
News of Jan
3, 2007
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