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Democratic House to Shift Left on Hot Issues NewsMax.com Wires Now that the Democrats have taken firm control of the House of Representatives, Americans can expect a decided shift to the left in Congress as the new majority party seeks to promote its agenda. For starters, Nancy Pelosi is almost certain to become the new speaker of the House, giving the liberal representative from San Francisco extensive control over congressional business and putting her two heartbeats away from the Oval Office. The Democratic takeover of the House will also usher in a cadre of the most liberal members to important committee chairmanships. Under House rules, the majority party selects the chairmen of each committee and subcommittee, and Democrats traditionally go strictly by seniority when selecting a chairperson. Here's how the Democratic agenda will likely play out on several important fronts: Taxes and Finance Charles Rangel of New York is set to become the new chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful committee in the House, with jurisdiction over taxes, trade, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
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Rangel has already said he would put all of the Bush tax cuts on the congressional "chopping block" and wouldn't continue "a single one" of the cuts when they expire after 2010. Rangel has waffled a bit on this issue lately, but by simply doing nothing as head of the committee and allowing the cuts to expire, he and fellow Democrats could over time impose a cumulative tax increase of $2.4 trillion. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who could become the majority leader, has admitted to being a "tax-tax spend-spend" Democrat. And George Miller, a close ally of Pelosi who is in line to chair the Education and Workforce Committee, will reportedly propose cutting interest rates for student loans and increasing fees on banks and other financial institutions in the student lending business.
Impeachment John Conyers of Michigan is in line to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which would initiate any impeachment proceedings against President Bush. But Conyers released a statement to the media on Thursday stating that he was in total agreement with Nancy Pelosi's statement that impeachment of Bush was off the table.. A report released by Conyers in August cites "approximately 26 laws and regulations" that he says may have been violated by the Bush administration, and there still may be hearings and investigations into the allegations.
Iraq War John Murtha of Pennsylvania is poised to chair the Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee. He is an outspoken critic of the Iraq war and in November called for the immediate withdrawal of American troops from that nation. Pelosi emphatically backed Murtha's call. Murtha has said he will seek to become the majority leader in the new House. What the Bush administration fears most from a Democratic Congress is efforts to cut off funds to support the war effort, although Murtha has said he would not pursue that tactic while troops are still in the field. Congressional Oversight Los Angeles-area Rep. Henry Waxman will be chairman of the powerful House Government Reform Committee. He has said that as chairman he would boost oversight of the Bush administration and target what he's called "profiteering" by drug companies and oil companies that have enjoyed soaring profits. Waxman has already led campaigns to get tobacco regulated as an addictive drug, increase federal oversight of dietary supplements, and toughen auto-emission standards. He has also said he wants to allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. "Corporate executives may not be familiar with Waxman yet, but some of them will be by this time next year," Andy Laperriere, a political analyst at the brokerage and research firm International Strategy & Investment, told The Wall Street Journal. In October, Waxman asked the Food and Drug Administration to investigate whether the main ingredient being used by some makers of over-the-counter cold medicines might be ineffective. Now as chairman of the committee, he will have the power to issue subpoenas, compel testimony and call hearings. Intelligence Jane Harman of California is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. But Pelosi wants to block her ascension to the committee chair largely because she feels Harman has not sufficiently used her position to attack the Bush administration for its prewar intelligence failures on Iraq, The New York Times reported. That would turn over the chairmanship to Alcee Hastings of Florida who was impeached and removed from his federal judgeship in 1989 for conspiring to take a $150,000 bribe and hand out light sentences to two convicted swindlers. As Committee chairman, Hastings would have access to the most sensitive national security secrets. According to the Web site OutsideTheBeltway, that "would virtually ensure that the Bush administration, already ridiculously paranoid about sharing information that Congress rightfully ought to have to conduct its oversight duties, would be even more reticent." Security When the House passed the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act in September, authorizing the National Security Agency to intercept terrorist communications entering the U.S., 177 Democrats voted against it. More than 160 Democrats also voted against authorizing military tribunals to try the most dangerous terrorist suspects. A majority of Democrats voted against renewing the Patriot Act, and Democrats have repeatedly opposed a U.S. missile-defense system. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is in line to become chairman of the Government Reform Committee's subcommittee on national security. Kucinich once introduced a bill to "abolish all nuclear weapons," refused to condemn Hezbollah terrorists, called for an end to the war on drugs and to the death penalty. Social Issues As recently as 2003, 137 Democrats in the House voted against banning partial-birth abortions. In 2005, 145 Democrats in the House voted against legislation prohibiting the transportation of a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent, guardian, or judge. Stem Cell Research In May 2005, 187 Democrats voted for a bill expanding public funding for embryonic stem cell research and only 14 Democrats opposed it. President Bush vetoed stem cell legislation this past July, but a Democratic House, with some GOP support, could have the votes to override a veto. Pelosi, President Bush and others have been promising to work together and "reach across the aisle," so to speak, since the midterm election. But the main goal for this group of Democrats who will soon control the House of Representatives, and who so revile President Bush and the GOP, will be to investigate and dismantle what the Repblicans have done over the last six years, and gain the White House for the Democrats in 2008.
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