Initial ideas - the 109th Congress

A number of senators and house members come up for re-election in the fall of 2006. The 109th Congress will end before very long and the "report cards" will soon appear. And I had planned to offer one of my own. But first I needed to accumulate some history, beginning with initial predictions about what Congress could accomplish.
In January 2005, 109th Congress talk began in earnest. What were those in the know thinking at that time? To find out I listened to a National Public Radio rebroadcast wherein Neil Conan talked during a news program about what was to come in the next two years. To quote,

109th Congress Gets Underway

Talk of the Nation, January 3, 2005 · As the new Congress gathers in Washington D.C., aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami and air travel are two unexpected issues. The deficit, the war in Iraq, confirmation hearings, social security, tax and tort reform: We consider the agenda and outlook of the 109th Congress.

NPR's Conan interviewed David Broder and four senators about upcoming legislative possibilities. Following is my paraphrased summary of what I learned about people's thinking at the beginning of the 109th Congress.
Broder made the point that Republicans expanded their majority in 2004 election to what they consider "a mandate." Other points by Broder include these,

• Iraq war: Guantamo Bay is in the news. Deficit hawks on both sides of the aisle will be speaking out about Bush's spending.
• SCOTUS: There was talk about possible judicial appointments (including to the Supreme Court).
• Rules and ethics: Broder also discussed the status of the filibuster rules in the Senate, saying that perhaps any changes may happen pending what the Democrats do. Congressional ethics and changes of rules of the ethics committee leadership are also currently in the news, with Tom DeLay's problems.
• Energy policy: Energy bills will be tried again, including the issue of drilling in ANWR, renewable energy sources and the subject of off shore drilling.
• Republican differences: According to Broder, Republicans will differ with the administration regarding immigration, and possibly regarding President Bush on Social Security. There is no plan or idea about the costs, he says.
• Social issues: Broder predicts that gay marriage issue will come up, but there will be no constitutional amendment, because "the public will adjust."
• Health care costs: reality is sinking in that we have a dysfunctional health care system.

Senator Gregg - Conan next talked with Judd Gregg (Chm. of Budget Committee), who made the following points: Spending needs to be controlled. Regarding Social Security reform, the pressure is really on due to demographics. Drug benefit costs will be extremely high. Health care system costs are increasing-the chances of any legislation are not known. Increased fuel costs are predicted. Reforming and simplifying tax laws will also come up, along with tort reform. Funding the Iraq war outside of the regular budget is also a problem.
Senator Demint - Conan interviewed Jim Demint, R-South Carolina, a new senator, formerly a member of the House. Demint talked about the sheer numbers of illegals as a national security issue, saying there would be an immigration debate - employers vs. the public.
Senator Leahey - Next up was Senator Patrick Leahey, D-Vermont. His concern was whether there would be real cooperation with Republicans, or would they be merely "dividers." The senator is on the Judiciary Committee and foresaw change on the Supreme Court. He discussed the importance of Roe v. Wade as settled law, and predicted that the Iraq war would not be an issue to come before court. He predicted friction with Majority Leader Frist on the filibuster rules. He also discussed the need for U.S. aid for the "cataclysmic Tsunami" victims: proposing that reconstruction monies not being spent in Iraq be reprogammed.
Senator Grassley - R-Iowa, is Chairman of of the Finance Committee. Grassley predicted the number of troops in Iraq would soon begin to go down. His budget views revealed that he is not a deficit hawk regarding Iraq spending. According to Grassley, taxes will stay at the present level, cuts to domestic spending to a 1% increase or even a freeze. The U.S. will use borrowing to finance the war. He discussed his view that the monetary policies of the Fed will work to support the value of the dollar. He endorsed tax reform, and feels that we must rebuild the Social Security system.
The 2004 election win for the Republicans meant control of the agenda and the accumulation of more political capital. Public opinion polls about Congress revealed in the spring of 2006 that the electorate may be ready for a change. The Pew Research Center's April 2006 headlline read,

Public Disillusionment with Congress at Record Levels.
Anti-Incumbent Sentiment Echoes 1994.
Released: April 20, 2006. Summary of Findings
The American public is angry with Congress, and this is bad news for the Republican Party. The belief that this Congress has accomplished less than its predecessors is markedly higher than at any point in the past nine years, and by a wide margin Republican leaders are blamed for this. Many more voters than in the recent past say the issue of partisan control of Congress will be a factor in their vote in November. And as has been the case since fall, voters are significantly more inclined to vote for Democrats than Republicans - by a 51% to 41% margin.
The public's strong appetite for change in Washington is seen both in the majority of voters who say they would like to see most members of Congress defeated in November (53%), and in the sizable minority who [tagname]wants to see their representative turned out in the midterms (28%). Both measures reflect anti-incumbent sentiment not seen since late in the historic 1994 campaign, just before Republicans gained control of Congress.

Congress vs Bush - At one time I planned to blog about that Congress once a week, but posts about the Bush administration have predominated for several weeks now. This will be the first in a new series discussing how the legislative branch of government has fared in the face of the growth in power of the Bush administration.

Tags: Bush News and politics politics Congress 2006 election
My "creative post" today at Southwest Blogger is a poem about landscapes.