I hope everyone can sleep well tonight knowing the Democrats control important committees...some of the same ones who have put California in the mess they're in right now, and in bed with the scum bags from the UN..
Do the right thing, America, send your money to Washington.
You don't need it as much as the Democrats do!
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - The $1.35 trillion tax cut looks safe, even if the Democrats regain control of the Senate due to the defection of Vermont's James Jeffords. See full story on approval of the tax bill.
However, President Bush' energy plan, a restructuring of the military, expanded trade authority and a second tax cut bill could suffer as Democrats take over key committees.
At the same time, prospects for a prescription drug benefit and an increase in the minimum wage would be brightened by a change in power in the Senate.
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"I put the energy companies - the companies that do the exploring and developing - and the pharmaceuticals at the top of the list of losers" if the Democrats take charge, said Kim Wallace, Washington analyst for Lehman Brothers.
Under the current 50-50 power-sharing arrangement in the Senate, Democrats have equal numbers on committees, but the Republican chairmen have wielded the real authority, backed up by the power of Majority Leader Trent Lott and Vice President Dick Cheney to break ties.
But if the Democrats gain a 50-49 advantage in the Senate, Democrats will take those chairmanships and gain a numerical advantage on the committees. The Democrats will control which bills come through committees and to the floor of the Senate.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., would control the schedule, but his authority would be severely tempered by the Senate's rules protecting the minority party. Cheney's vote wouldn't matter on party-line votes.
Of course, the House and the White House remain in Republican hands. As before, very little will make it through the two houses of Congress without some support from both sides of the aisle. The centrist group of senators, led by John Breaux, D-La., and Jeffords, will remain the key voting bloc, regardless of who's sitting in the chair at the Senate.
"This president will continue to govern in a bipartisan way," said Ari Fleischer, White House spokesman. See Bill Watts' column on Bush's agenda.
Most of the work in the Senate is done in its 20 committees. But only a few committees deal with major issues.
Senate Finance Committee
The Finance Committee writes the tax bills, and has jurisdiction over trade and Medicare and Social Security. The big tax cut bill has already moved through the committee, thanks in large part to the cooperation between Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Max Baucus, D-Mont.
The moderate Baucus would take the gavel from Grassley. While he's not a big spender, he'll be pressured by his caucus to tilt legislation toward Democratic priorities.
"Producing a second tax bill this year would become much more difficult," Lehman's Wallace said.
On trade, the Democrats could pressure the Republicans to give more weight to labor and environmental concerns, something Bush hasn't paid much attention to. Bush is aiming to win authority to make trade agreements on a "fast-track," which would limit the Senate's influence over treaties.
Senate Energy Committee
Bush's energy plan would face a much tougher challenge without the help of Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska. Murkowski is one of the biggest voices for expanded exploration for oil and gas. He's also firmly in favor of more nuclear power.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has also called for more energy development, particularly nuclear. But he's much more in tune with the Democrats' concerns about conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources than Murkowski is.
"There's a 70 percent overlap" between Murkowski and Bingaman, Wallace said.
Regardless of who controls the Senate, nuclear energy enjoys "very bipartisan" support, said Nuclear Energy Institute President Joe Colvin. "Our industry is very well supported."
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska probably wasn't going to happen anyway, but the power shift back to the Democrats would make it even less likely. Jeffords isn't the only Republican who has warned that energy production must not come at the expense of environmental quality.
Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee
This is Jefford's committee. According to media reports, Jeffords would give up the chair to Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and take the environment committee chairmanship.
Kennedy has become a master of forging alliances with moderate Republicans (like Jeffords) on health and labor issues. With the gavel in his hand, it's likely Kennedy would be able to pass significant legislation, such as the patient's bill of rights, minimum wage and prescription drug benefits for seniors.
The Democratic approach is skeptical of the drug and insurance industries. "Pharma didn't get any favors done" when Jeffords decided to switch, Wallace said.
Senate Commerce Committee
One maverick - Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C. -- would take over from another - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Hollings is old school. He's seen as a protectionist and argued against the takeover of Voicestream by Deutsche Telekom (DT: news, msgs, alerts) .
Telecommunications issues are on the back burner this year. Even now, analysts don't give much chance of success to Rep. Billy Tauzin's crusade to help the Baby Bells compete in the long-distance high-speed data market.
Airline competition and customer service have been high-profile issues this year, but it's not clear whether any legislation would have been passed.
Lehman's Wallace said the switch wouldn't help the USAir (U: news, msgs, alerts) -United (UAL: news, msgs, alerts) merger.
Senate Armed Services Committee
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to recommend major changes in military spending and defense strategy that could lead ultimately to greater reliance on high-tech equipment and less on manpower.
Both Sens. John Warner, R-Va., (the current chairman) and Carl Levin, D-Mich., represent states with significant defense spending. Levin and the Democrats could be amenable to some increased spending (which mean jobs, after all), but the deployment of a missile defense system could be left behind.
"There's not much light between the Republicans and the Democrats on defense spending," said Christopher Hellman, senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information. "The consensus is increases are necessary."
No matter which party is in charge, "the money will be there," Hellman said.
Hellman said Levin has been a leader in closing surplus bases.
Wallace says he thinks budget constraints will keep increases in defense spending to $5 billion to $7 billion a year.
The others
The other major chairmanships that would change:
Foreign Relations: Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del, would take over from Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. Good news for the IMF, the World Bank and the United Nations.
Appropriations: Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Va., would take over from Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. The pork heads back to Appalachia.
Banking: Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., would take over from Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas. This committee has oversight of the Fed.
Budget: Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., would take over from Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. The committee's big task is done for the year.
Judiciary: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., would take over from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. It just got a lot tougher to appoint conservatives to the courts.
Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
