What's on the Agenda?

Now that the 111th Congress has been sworn in, it's time to get down to business. What will our Representatives and Senators be working on first? Check it out...

Confirmation Hearings
One of the first matters to be taken up by the Senate is the confirmation of President-elect Obama's nominees for his Cabinet. Cabinet nominees must be approved by a simple majority (more than 50%) of the Senate. Here's the current hearing schedule:

01.08.09: Tom Daschle - Secretary of Health and Human Services
01.09.09: Representative Hilda Solis - Secretary of Labor
01.13.09: Senator Hillary Clinton - Secretary of State
01.13.09: Dr. Steven Chu - Secretary of Energy
01.13.09: Arne Duncan - Secretary of Education
01.13.09: Shaun Donovan - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
01.14.09: Eric Shinseki - Secretary of Veterans Affairs
01.14.09: Former Governor Tom Vilsack - Secretary of Agriculture
01.15.09: Eric H. Holder, Jr. - Attorney General
01.15.09: Senator Ken Salazar - Secretary of Interior
01.15.09: Governor Janet Napolitano - Secretary of Homeland Security

Still to be scheduled: Secretary of the Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Transportation nominee Ray LaHood, and, with Governor Bill Richardson's withdrawal from consideration, the yet-to-be-named nominee for Secretary of Commerce.

While the majority of Obama's Cabinet selections have been relatively uncontroversial, Attorney General nominee Eric Holder faces the most potentially challenging confirmation hearing. Senate Republicans have reservations about Holder's record, particularly concerning his role, as President Clinton's Deputy Attorney General, in the controversial 11th-hour pardon of international commodities trader and Democratic Party donor Marc Rich.

SCHIP
Democratic leaders in the House are scheduling a vote for early next week on a renewal of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The federal program provides states with funding for health insurance for families with children that do not qualify for Medicaid assistance but cannot afford insurance on their own. The current program, set to expire on March 31, covers approximately 6 million uninsured children; new legislation will likely expand coverage to up to 10 million children.

Congress passed a similar bill to expand the scope of SCHIP twice in 2007. Both times, the legislation was vetoed by President Bush, who objected to the cost (an additional $35 billion) and means of paying for it (a tobacco tax). Though the bill had significant bipartisan support, the House was unable to muster the two-thirds majority vote necessary to override the President's veto. President-elect Obama has indicated that he will sign the SCHIP legislation.

Economic Stimulus Package
President-elect Barack Obama has made it clear that his first priority in office is to sign a sweeping economic stimulus package to jump start the faltering economy. While the exact details have not been finalized yet, Obama is seeking bipartisan support for a plan that will combine approximately $300 billion in tax cuts to individuals and businesses with infrastructure spending and tax incentives for job creation. The total package is likely to cost around $800 billion. Obama's team will be presenting their proposal to Congressional leaders in the coming days, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that her goal is to pass the legislation by mid-February.

The Freshman Class: Senate Edition

On November 4, 2008, thirty-five Senate races were held in elections across the country. While the majority of the seats were retained by incumbents, the following nine individuals were elected as new senators for the 111th Congress:

Mark Begich (D-Alaska)
Begich defeated embattled Republican incumbent Ted Stevens by 3,953 votes in an extremely tight contest that wasn't decided until all absentee ballots were counted on November 19.

Mark Udall (D-Colorado)
Udall bested GOP candidate Bob Schaffer by a 53%-43% margin to win the open Senate seat being vacated by Republican Wayne Allard.

Jim Risch (R-Idaho)
With GOP Senator Larry Craig's retirement, Risch handed Democrat Larry LaRocco a resounding defeat (58%-34%) for Idaho's open seat.

Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska)
Johanns won retiring Senator Chuck Hagel's seat over Democrat Scott Kleeb, 58%-40%.

Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire)
After a narrow loss for the same seat in 2002, Shaheen defeated Republican incumbent John Sununu by a 52%-45% margin.

Tom Udall (D-New Mexico)
Udall won retiring Republican Senator Pete Domenici's seat over GOP candidate Steve Pearce, 61%-39%.

Kay Hagan (D-North Carolina)
Hagan defeated incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole 53%-44% in one of the most closely-watched and bitterly-contested Senate races in the country.

Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon)
Merkley bested moderate Republican incumbent Gordon Smith in a squeaker, 49%-46%.

Mark Warner (D-Virginia)
With Republican Senator John Warner's retirement, former Governor and Democrat Mark Warner easily defeated (65%-34%) GOP candidate Jim Gilmore for Virginia's open seat.

Yet to be decided: Minnesota's ridiculously close Senate race between incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman and Democratic candidate Al Franken. After a lengthy recount process that only ended this week, the Minnesota Canvassing Board on Monday certified Franken as the winner of the contest by a margin of just 225 votes, out of almost three million cast. However, a series of legal challenges by the Coleman campaign is likely to keep the race in limbo for at least the next several months. While Franken has claimed victory, he is unlikely to be seated as a senator until all legal issues have been settled.

Also to be resolved: the vacated or soon-to-be vacated Senate seats occupied by President-elect Obama (Illinois), Vice President-elect Joe Biden (Delaware), Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton (New York), and Secretary of the Interior nominee Ken Salazar (Colorado). Here's where we stand:

Colorado
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has named Denver Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to succeed Salazar as the U.S. Senator from Colorado. However, Bennet won't be sworn in until after Salazar's confirmation as Secretary of the Interior.

Delaware
While Joe Biden is being sworn in today for his 7th term as the U.S. Senator from Delaware, he will vacate his seat prior to the Inauguration in order to assume his role as Vice President. Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner has said she will appoint Biden's former chief-of-staff, Ted Kaufman, until a special election can be held in 2010. Kaufman is largely seen as a placeholder until Biden's son, Beau, can run for the seat after fulfilling his commitment with the National Guard in Iraq.

New York
With President-elect Obama tapping Senator Hillary Clinton as his choice for Secretary of State, several hopefuls have emerged in recent weeks for the soon-to-be vacated seat. United States Representatives Steve Israel and Carolyn Maloney are said to be in the mix for the position, but the favorite right now has to be Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy. New York Governor David Paterson will name his choice for the seat in the coming weeks.

Illinois
Perhaps no Senate seat has attracted as much attention as President-elect Barack Obama's. While he remains under a cloud of suspicion following allegations that he attempted to sell Obama's seat, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich last week appointed Roland Burris, a former Illinois Attorney General, to the seat. Given the allegations against Blagojevich, Senate Democrats have indicated that they will not seat his choice, and Burris will not be sworn in today. However, it is unclear at this point if the Senate has the constitutional authority to deny Burris of the seat. Stay tuned!

Say Hello to the 111th Congress

Today in Washington, members of the 111th Congress are being sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The new session will feature a host of familiar faces, a number of new ones, and a few lingering questions still to be resolved. So, let's take a look at the incoming freshman class, some fun facts about the 111th Congress, and the issues and legislation most likely to be taken up in the coming weeks.

A Matter of Decimal Points

College students, rejoice! The senate voted this morning to approve The Higher Education Access Act, a extensive bill that will increase the size of current Pell Grants to $4,310, and up them again to $5,400 in 2011. The bill will also take stress off of college graduates trying to pay off their student loans by creating a system of "income based repayment" which sets loan payments at a "manageable" percentage of a recent grad's income. It will also increase the amount of federal aid that working students can receive, and raise the income level under which a student is automatically qualified for a Pell Grant.

Of course, student aid money doesn't appear out of thin air. The Senate bill paid for the increases in aid by cutting subsidies to lending firms that provide federally guaranteed loans to students by a whopping, massive... 0.5%. To some, this cut seemed excessive, so an amendment was attached to the bill cutting that cut to 0.35%. The rationale apparently being that the 0.5% cut would do "irreparable, significant harm to the public-private FFEL program which 8 out of 10 institutions of higher education rely on," and a 0.35% cut wouldn't. Now, I'm neither a mathematician or an accountant, but I feel like a change in 0.15 percentage points isn't worth threatening the life of such an important bill.

The bill transcended this parliamentarian snare and went on to win by a vote of 78-18, with the aforementioned amendment going down 36-61.

In this author's humble opinion, the bill is a success in the effort to make college affordable for everyone, if a relatively modest one, and I'm encouraged to see that the Senate sided with American students over big banks and loan lenders. For now.

Legislative Show-Down: House vs. Senate

In mid-June, the House of Representatives responded to the tragic April 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech by voting to provide grants to states to update the national database that gun dealers use for background checks so that it includes more criminal records and mental health information in the database. However, the Senate Appropriations committee has voiced its concern about maintaining the privacy of gun owners. Last week, the Committee stalled the effort to repeal the Tiahrt amendment passed in 2003, which legally limits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) from releasing to local law enforcement agencies information about guns used in crimes, including serial numbers, manufactures, sellers, and buyers in order to respect the privacy of gun owners. Those supporting the repealing of the amendment, including the prominent group Mayors Against Illegal Guns with members stretching from New York City to San Francisco, argue that if police forces were allowed to use the information currently protected by the BATF, they would be able to more effectively halt illegal gun trafficking and sales, the method by which many criminals obtains firearms. However, the National Rifle Association states that the Tiahrt amendment prevents local authorities from abusing this protected information, and also cite that both the BATF and the Fraternal Order of Police oppose repealing the amendment. What do you think?