Bravi tutti! Ancora! Ancora!
The Pelosi led Democrats did what they promised: 6 significant pieces of legislation passed by the House in under 100 hours.
The bills passed by the House as part of the 100-hour agenda would [if passed by the Senate and signed by the President]:
_Slap a “conservation fee” on oil and gas taken from deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico; scrap nearly $6 billion worth of oil industry tax breaks enacted by Congress in recent years; and seek to recoup royalties lost to the government because of an Interior Department error in leases issued in the late 1990s. Passed Thursday.
_Lower interest rates on federally subsidized student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in stages over five years at a cost to taxpayers of $6 billion. Passed Wednesday.
_Make the government bargain directly with drug companies with the aim of reducing prices of prescriptions for Medicare beneficiaries. Passed Jan. 12.
_Expand government-financed embryonic stem cell research. Passed Jan. 11.
_Raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over 26 months. Passed Jan. 10.
_Bolster terrorism-fighting efforts with more cargo inspections. Passed Jan. 9.
Democrats also won approval of internal House rule changes dealing with ethics, lobbying and budgeting. They were passed on Jan. 4-5.
Now, is this significant or is it just propaganda of the deed? That is, will any of these bills actually become law or were they cynically ginned up, knowing they would never make it through the digestive systems of Senate and Administration, but would make good scourges to whip the GOP with?
I don’t know. But in the choice of issues — broadly supported and non-controversial — points to a “twofer.” There was a resonable chance of passage, if not in the original form, in something proximate; AND, if they didn’t pass they would prove useful as scourges, particularly because of the mildness of the proposals.
Now comes the more interesting stuff.
The non-binding resolution against the Bush Soldier and Seaman Impressement Act will certainly get some action. [Here is a link to current counts of opposition, support, hiding in the restroom at MyDD. follow the link to see what action you can take.] The joint resolution HJR 14 offered the other day by Rep Walter Jones, declaring Bush must get Congressional approval for any moves on Iran, would be a fine thing to make the evening news.
Pelosi’s new panel to tackle energy and climate change is a good, solid statement as is her promise to have something about Energy Independence out by July 4th –more good theatre.
Pelosi Plans and again.