CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS DON'T PLAN TO DO MUCH
AP - The incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is
promising an array of oversight investigations that could provoke sharp
disagreement with Republicans and the White House. Rep. John Dingell,
D-Mich., pledged that Democrats, swept to power in the Nov. 7 elections,
would govern "in the middle" next year. . . Meanwhile, the incoming
chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee said his
committee would not take on contentious issues, such as extending
expiring tax cuts or overhauling Social Security, at the beginning of
the year. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Democrats do not want a
fight with President Bush and want to prove they can govern.
. . .
Some priorities set by Democrat leaders in Congress:
- Urge the White House to convene a summit to discuss the U.S. future in
Iraq. . .
- Increase attention to terrorist threats in Africa and Southeast Asia.
Open direct talks with North Korea and Iran. More oversight of terrorism
and government surveillance.
- Enact Sept. 11 commission recommendations, including stronger
oversight of intelligence agencies and privacy-civil liberties issues.
Declassify intelligence agencies' budgets. Put a radio system in place
by next year to let emergency responders from different agencies talk to
each other. Boost security for rail and mass transit systems and
chemical and nuclear plants.
- Conduct hearings on treatment of terrorism detainees, domestic
surveillance programs and the president's use of "signing statements"
affecting some requirements in the bills he signs.
- Pass legislation to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to
$7.25. Repeal incentives to companies to send jobs overseas.
- Reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, but with more money.
Increase access to college by lowering tuition costs.
- Enable the Medicare program to negotiate directly with drug companies
for lower prices. Pass a vetoed embryonic stem cell research bill again.
Advance legislation to reduce the number of uninsured, now at 47
million. Require insurance companies to provide benefits for treating
mental illnesses equal to other medical and surgical benefits. Get
generic drugs on the market more quickly.
- Increase education-based tax breaks. Restructure the alternative
minimum tax; this originally was intended to prevent the rich from
avoiding taxes but increasingly is affecting the middle class. Close a
$345 billion tax gap, the estimated amount that people and companies owe
but avoid paying each year. . .
- Repeal subsidies to the oil industry. Use the money on biodiesel,
ethanol fuels and alternative energy such as wind, solar, geothermal and
other sources. Impose a national cap on industrial carbon dioxide
emissions. Resist Bush's efforts to open more public lands to oil
exploration. . .
guardian.co.uk
SOME THINGS CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS AREN'T EXCITED ABOUT
Restoring constitutional government
Restoring civil liberties
A decent education program to replace the 'no child fiasco'
Getting out of Iraq
Ending hostilities against Muslim countries
Palestinian statehood
Ending use of torture, renditions & gitmo
Population growth
Ending the war on drugs
Universal healthcare
Public campaign financing
Instant runoff voting & proportional representation
Reliable vote counting
End to robber baron capitalism
Foreign policy based on peace not war
Reduction of poverty & homelessness
End of corporate personshood
Nuclear disarmament
Use of eminent domain by private developers
Devolution of power
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