Flashback: New Congress, Same Skepticism
Jan. 4, 2007 — -- Today, amid fanfare and photo ops, members of the new Democrat-controlled Congress will take their oaths of office.
But beneath all the lofty talk of bipartisanship and cooperation lurks skepticism and suspicion.
Democrats have laid out an ambitious agenda for their first 100 hours of legislation, beginning Tuesday, including:
- cutting interest rates for student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent
- passing the remaining 9/11 Commission recommendations
- increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour
- allowing federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
In the summer, President Bush vetoed stem cell research.
But Democrats will not allow Republicans to offer competing bills in their first 100 hours, so Republicans say bipartisanship has already been discarded.
"It's a very poor policy avenue to pursue to say 'We will only listen to you after we have done what we want to do,'" said Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla. "Their agenda is not like a gallon of milk. It won't expire in 100 hours."
Democrats say that Republicans will be permitted more opportunities to introduce competing legislation than they were afforded under GOP rule. Moreover, they say the initial agenda items being introduced in the first 100 hours were ones thoroughly vetted before the public.
"I think it's not accurate to say that this is not a very fair and open process," Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told ABC News. "Very rarely are the six items that we're going to move discussed as openly and as extensively as these items have been discussed."
As to the lack of GOP alternatives, Hoyer said, "We think that they offered their alternatives in the election. Their alternatives in many respects were 'No.'"
Helping fuel the GOP complaint that the "100 Hours" plan is contrived is the fact that Democrats appeared confused as to when the "100 hours" were set to begin.
Initial reports from the office of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had the "100 hours" beginning today, as Democrats voted on a package for ethics reform, and continuing to Friday, when they are set to introduce rules on reforming congressional earmarks -- the spending projects often slipped surreptitiously into larger spending bills.
On Wednesday evening, however, Hoyer's office said that the "100 Hours" plan would actually begin Tuesday with implementing outstanding recommendations by the 9/11 Commission.
Democrats are skeptical of Bush's pledge of cooperation, too.
"Anyone whose view of bipartisanship is 'Do what I want' isn't being bipartisan," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "In the past, the president has had some of that view, but let's hope he read the election signals the same way we did: The public is demanding real bipartisanship."
