110th United States Congress/Articles & Commentary

The following are articles & commentary related to the 110th United States Congress.

For November 7, 2006, through January 6, 2007, also see articles & commentary posted at George W. Bush: The Lame Duck President.

October

 * John Hawkins, "A Republican Agenda for 110th Congress," Human Events Online, October 18, 2006.
 * Daniel Pulliam, "GAO to recommend oversight priorities for next Congress," GovExec.com, October 20, 2006.
 * Geov Parrish, "Progress by Committee. Progressives won't get party leadership, but seniority brings committee chairs," WorkingforChange.com (Common Dreams), October 30, 2006.

House/Senate Leadership

 * "A look at the new leadership in Senate," Associated Press (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), November 9, 2006.
 * Lee Hudson Tesklik, "The New Team in Town. After 12 years of Republican rule, the Democrats likely to take over key House committees are promising big changes, from tax policy to homeland security," Newsweek (MSNBC), November 9, 2006.
 * Shannon Hopkins, "The 110th Congress: the end of Fight Club?" Progressive U.org, November 9, 2006.
 * Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman, "Reid, Pelosi Expected to Keep Tight Rein in Both Chambers," Washington Post, November 10, 2006.
 * Maura Reynolds, "Reid says Democrats will restore 'checks and balances'," Los Angeles Times, November 11, 2006.
 * Zachary Coile, "Chances Pelosi's House Can Bridge the Divide. Her 100-hour plan may yield results, then all bets are off," San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 2006.
 * "Reid: 'We Have To Really Do Something'. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Promises Bipartisanship And Oversight," CBS News, November 12, 2006.
 * Perry Bacon, Jr., "Behind the Democrats' Leadership Battle. The last thing the Democrats want to do as they regain control of Congress is get caught up in an internal power struggle. So why is incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi backing the dark horse in the race to be her number two?" TIME Magazine, November 13, 2006.
 * Josephine Hearn, "Pelosi 'will ensure' Murtha win, Murtha ally says," The Hill, November 13, 2006.
 * David Sirota, "Wanted: A Real Leader," The Nation, November 14, 2006.
 * "Senate Democrats decide on party leaders," Associated Press (Houston Chronicle), November 14, 2006.
 * Massimo Calabresi and Perry Bacon Jr., "Inside Pelosi's Power Play. Working the phones and unleashing her top aides, Pelosi is trying to turn the Murtha-Hoyer battle into a powerful statement of her authority — and what the Democrats stand for," TIME Magazine, November 14, 2006.
 * Marc Ambinder, "Leadership Update: Wide Open Races?" The Hotline Blog/National Journal Online, November 14, 2006: "Murtha's spokesman responded with a withering statement: 'Instead of uniting with our Minority Leader on Iraq, Steny Hoyer issued a statement one year ago in which he said that the Iraq policy proposed by Jack Murtha and supported by Leader Pelosi would have been disastrous to our national security.'"
 * "No Punches Pulled in Democratic House Leadership Race," Fox News, November 15, 2006.
 * David Sirota, "The People Party vs. The Money Party: Here Are the Players," DavidSirota.com, December 3, 2006.
 * Walter Pincus, "Democrats Who Opposed War Move Into Key Positions. New Committee Chairmen Had Warned of Postwar Disorder," Washington Post, December 4, 2006. re John M. Spratt Jr., Ike Skelton, David R. Obey, Tammy Baldwin, Joe Baca
 * Greg Mitchell, "Pincus Tweaks 'Post' on War Resolution -- How Did Others Respond?" Editor & Publisher, December 4, 2006. re Bush administration and the press; also see Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002

109th "lame duck" "do-nothing" Congress

 * Jim Abrams, "Still Work Ahead for Lame-Duck Congress," Associated Press (Washington Post), November 9, 2006.
 * Richard Simon and Joel Havermann, "Congress returns for session's last lag. Spending bills and tax breaks top Congress' agenda, as do decisions on who will lead each party in January," Los Angeles Times, November 13, 2006.
 * Editorial: "The Lame-Duck Congress. Passing spending bills and giving the District full voting rights in the House should be priorities," Washington Post, November 13, 2006.
 * Dave Lindorff, "Democrats Get First Test: The Lame Duck Congress," OpEdNews, November 14, 2006.
 * Carl Hulse, "Republicans to bequeath fiscal tangle to Democrats," New York Times/International Herald Tribune, December 4, 2006.
 * Gail Russell Chaddock, "Lame-duck session likely to punt to next Congress. After a shift of power, there's little political will to finish incomplete agenda issues this session," Christian Science Monitor, December 4, 2006.
 * Shailagh Murray, "Congress Not in a Spending Mood as the Holidays Near," Washington Post, December 5, 2006.
 * Katie Allison Granju, "Lame-duck congress moving quickly to approve offshore drilling," Associated Press (WBIR.com), December 5, 2006.
 * "Lame Duck Session Holds Little Hope for Appropriations Bills," OMB Watch, December 5, 2006.
 * Editorial: "Can't Be Bothered. There's no excuse for congressional lethargy on trade," Washington Post, December 5, 2006.
 * David Ivanovich, "Republicans refuse to give up on drilling. GOP leaders hope to attach issue to tax-break legislation," Houston Chronicle, December 5, 2006.
 * Opinion: "Congress passes buck on spending bills," Miami Herald, December 6, 2006.
 * Steve Thomma, "Congress to leave work behind. As lawmakers ready to adjourn for the year, financing bills still on the table," McClatchy Newspapers (The State), December 6, 2006.
 * David Rodgers, "Some Republicans Take a Scorched-Hill Tack. Leaving Budget Decisions To Democrats Could Disrupt New Leadership's Agenda," Wall Street Journal Online, December 6, 2006.
 * Steve Benen, "There are individuals who want to blow up the tracks’," The Carpetbagger Report, December 6, 2006.
 * Carl Hulse, "Anti-Abortion Bill Stalls; Session Nears End," New York Times, December 7, 2006.
 * David Ivanovich, "GOP lawmakers tack offshore drilling legislation onto tax bill," Houston Chronicle, December 6, 2006.
 * Lori Montgomery, "Jockeying In Senate Endangers Tax Breaks. Trade, Health Issues Stall Vote on Bill," Washington Post, December 7, 2006.
 * Jim Abrams, "Congress Struggles to Break Final Logjam," Associated Press (Forbes), December 7, 2006.

Illegal Immigration & Border Security

 * Josh Gerstein, "Immigration Seen as Likely Test For 110th Congress," The New York Sun, November 7, 2006.
 * Gregory Siskind, "Immigration and the 110th Congress," Immigration Daily, November 8, 2006.
 * Cato Daily Dispatch: Immigration Reform Back on the Table; Senator Vows to Challenge Global Warming; America's Trade Deficit Shrinks, Cato Institute, November 10, 2006.
 * Shaun Waterman, "Democrats to 'revisit' law creating border fence," UPI (Washington Times), November 11, 2006.
 * Darryl Fears and Spencer S. Hsu, "Democrats May Proceed With Caution on Immigration. Explosive Issue Not A Top Priority For Incoming Leaders," Washington Post, November 13, 2006.

War in Iraq

 * Thom Shankar, "At the Pentagon, Concern About Blame for the Situation in Iraq," New York Times, November 10, 2006.
 * Anne Gearan, "Elections may shift U.S. Iraq war policy," Associated Press (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), November 10, 2006.
 * Tony Capaccio and Kelly Riddell, "Levin to Use Top Armed Services Post to Push U.S. Iraq Pullout," Bloomberg, November 10, 2006.
 * Carl Hulse and Thom Shankar, "Democrats, Engaging Bush, Vow Early Action on Iraq," New York Times, November 11, 2006.
 * Michael Abramowitz and Thomas E. Ricks, "Panel May Have Few Good Options to Offer. Bipartisan Group's Plan Expected in Dec.," Washington Post, November 12, 2006. re Iraq Study Group
 * Zachary Coile, "Chances Pelosi's House Can Bridge the Divide. Her 100-hour plan may yield results, then all bets are off," San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 2006.
 * Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Mark Mazetti, "Democrats to Press Bush to Reduce Troops in Iraq," New York Times, November 12, 2006.
 * Mara Liasson, "Democrats Starting to Form an Iraq Strategy," Morning Edition/NPR, November 14, 2006.
 * Ann Scott Tyson, "U.S. Commander in Iraq to Face Democrats Eager for Troop Cuts," Washington Post, November 15, 2006. re Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command
 * Jonathan Weisman, "Reid Pledges To Press Bush On Iraq Policy. Senator Is Elected Majority Leader," Washington Post, November 15, 2006.
 * Nick Childs, "Senate head to seek Iraq pull-out," BBC, November 15, 2006.
 * "New Senate leader vows push for change in Iraq: report," Reuters, November 15, 2006.
 * Steve Soto, "Abizaid Snuffs McCain And Withdrawal Talk At The Same Time," The Left Coaster, November 15, 2006.
 * Scott Ritter, "Democrats Must Offer A New Blueprint for Iraq," AlterNet, November 15, 2006.
 * Greg Sargent, "Poll: Far More Americans Trust Congress Than Bush On Iraq," TPM Cafe, February 26, 2007.

Homeland Security, War on Terrorism, Privacy and Individual Rights

 * Ted Rall, "Our Long National Nightmare Has Just Begun. Like Cornered Rats, GOP Losers More Dangerous Than Ever," uExpress.com, November 7, 2006. See Posse Comitatus Act and Military Commissions Act of 2006 for details.
 * Andrew Noyes, "Democratic victory may kill surveillance bills," National Journal's Technology Daily (GovExec.com), November 8, 2006.
 * Martin H. Bosworth, "New Congress Faces Technology, Privacy Issues," ConsumerAffairs.com, November 9, 2006.
 * Darren Goode, Megan Scully and Kristen Lee, "Freshman Democrats include anti-terrorism expert," CongressDaily (GovExec.com), November 10, 2006.
 * Laura Litvan, "Senate Leader Reid Plans Push on Cargo Screening, Drug Prices (Update 1)," Bloomberg, November 10, 2006.

Health Care, Medicare universal health insurance & Prescription Drug Plan

 * Robert Pear, "Administration Opposes Democrats' Plan for Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices," New York Times (truthout), November 13, 2006.

Labor & Minimum Wage

 * Bob Geiger, "Working Families Now Guaranteed a Raise From Democrats," OpEdNews, November 13, 2006.

Environment & Global Warming

 * Patrick Kennedy, "Boxer Replaces Inhofe - Calls for Global Warming Legislation," Daily Kos, November 10, 2006.
 * John Heilprin, "Democrats to Stress Environmental Issues," Associated Press (ABC News), November 15, 2006.
 * John Heilprin, "Boxer Says No More Environment Rollbacks," Associated Press (1010 WINS), December 5, 2006. re Barbara Boxer

Education

 * "Democratic Majority to Put Education Policy on Agenda. College Affordability Tops List; Key Members Back NCLB Renewal," Education Week, November 15, 2006.

Commerce & Technology

 * Ted Hearn, "Dingell, Markey to Take Telecom Command," Multichannel News, November 8, 2006.
 * Roy Mark, "Will Dems Change Tech Policy?" Internet News, November 10, 2006.
 * Chris Taylor, "Techs: High up on Capitol Hill. From 'net neutrality' to foreign worker visas, the new Congress may be the most technology-friendly in history," Business 2.0 Magazine/CNNMoney.com, November 10, 2006.
 * Chris Isidore, "Democrats may put Big Three in driver's seat. As execs from GM, Ford and Chrysler meet Bush, Democrats' gains could provide a lift to the automakers' legislative agenda," CNNMoney.com, November 14, 2006: The "meeting, which was postponed by the White House twice over the last 14 months, is to deal with issues ranging from health care and international trade, to alternative fuel cars and light trucks."

Oversight & Investigations

 * "Reid: 'We Have To Really Do Something'. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Promises Bipartisanship And Oversight," CBS News, November 12, 2006.
 * Editorial: "Hiding From Oversight," New York Times, November 13, 2006.
 * David Johnston, "Senate Democrats Revive Demand for Classified Data," New York Times, November 24, 2006.
 * Robert Parry, "Bush's Belated Accountability Moment," Baltimore Chronicle, November 13, 2006.
 * "Pelosi announces Iraq 'Democratic forum'," The Raw Story, November 21, 2006.
 * David Morgan, "W.House will defy Democrats on security: Republican," Reuters, November 30, 2006.
 * John W. Dean, "Are Congressional Wars Coming? Since Cheney Has Already Said He'll Ignore the Democratic Congress, It Seems Likely," FindLaw's Writ, December 1, 2006.

Trade Agreements

 * Sibylla Brodzinsky and Peter S. Goodman, "Latin Americans Wonder If Democrats Are Traders. Anxiety High Over Stance of Incoming Congress," Washington Post, November 23, 2006.

Other

 * News Release: "Citizens Against Government Waste Pushes for a Fiscally Responsible 110th Congress," U.S. Newswire, November 8, 2006.
 * Rhonda Schwartz, "Payback Time: Who the Democrats Will Target," The Blotter/ABC News, November 8, 2006.
 * Alex Johnson, "Election leaves Bush to bob on blue wave. With Democrats rising, next 2 years will be tough for lame-duck president," MSNBC, November 8, 2006.
 * Sidney Blumenthal, "The American revolution of 2006 and beyond. The dust has settled: Bush has created a rump regional party and set the stage for a deeper realignment of the US parties," comment is free.../Guardian Unlimited (UK), November 9, 2006: "But in his quest for realignment Rove has left a rump regional party mired in the swamps of Dixie."
 * Marcus Barum, "Congress' Changing Face Could Affect Policy. House and Senate to Welcome More Women, Asians, Jews and Its First Muslim," ABC News, November 10, 2006.
 * Keith Olbermann, "'Turning the lights on' in Congress. Congressmen Dingell, Conyers likely to exercise 'power of the purse'," MSNBC, November 10, 2006. Discussion with Jonathan Turley on constitutional issues. Includes video link and transcript.
 * Steven C. Clemons, "Bush's Fake Bipartisanship!" The Washington Note, November 9, 2006.
 * "Outgoing US Congress must deal with spending bills, tax relief to wrap up year," Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), November 10, 2006.
 * Tom Balz and Jim VandeHei, "GOP Moderates' Ouster Widens House Divide," Washington Post, November 10, 2006.
 * "Progressives Set To Be Largest Democratic Congressional Caucus," Ms. Magazine, November 10, 2006.
 * Steven Ertelt, "Pro-Life Democrats Win Elections, But Abortion Advocates Still Rule," LifeNews.com, November 10, 2006.
 * Steven Greenhouse, "Labor Movement Dusts Off Agenda as Power Shifts in Congress," New York Times, November 11, 2006.
 * Donna Smith, "Lawmakers gear up to fight some old battles," Reuters (Washington Post), November 12, 2006.
 * Ronald Brownstein, "Reid, an ex-boxer, hasn't forgotten Bush's punches," Los Angeles Times, November 12, 2006.

Note: This page created November 14, 2006.