Saturday, January 20, 2007

democrats successfully pass "first 100 hours" legislation

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during the 2006 campaign season, promised that if Democrats were to take back Congress in the election, that they would pass a series of reforms and important legislation within the first 100 hours of convening the session. She came through on that promise.

Via Three Wise Men, we learn that the following reforms were passed under the new Democratic-controlled Congress in the first 100 hours:
  • 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 use the money instead to fund renewable resources. Passed Thursday. Speaker Pelosi is also creating a House panel on global warming.
  • Lower interest rates on federally subsidized student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in stages over five years. 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. (Today they also passed much-needed new rules dealing with House pages!)
NTL commends the House of Representatives for enacting these reforms, already accomplishing more in the first 100 hours than was accomplished under the previous Republican-controlled 109th Congress. Unfortunately, still according to TWM, the president "is expected to veto the stem cell research funding, Medicare Part D reform, and cuts to oil and gas subsidies once they reach his desk."

1 comment:

Wax Poetic said...

I'm reading Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope." It does give hope to the fact that the Democrats may be able to lead goverment back into the realm of making a difference. If they can learn from the lessons that got them booted in '94, and the GOP kicked out in November, then they may actually lead. Somebody needs to.

Was it me, or did it seem like Nancy Pelosi was racing Dick Cheney all night to see if she could be the first give the President a Standing O.