Democrats Take Tenuous Control of Senate, Firm Hold on House in 110th Congress

All eyes are on Washington D.C. as the new 110th Congress is sworn into office, and as Democrats retake control of both the Senate and House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years.

U.S. House of Representatives
Democrats hold a comfortable majority margin of 233-202 over Republicans in the House, which will allow Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer plenty of leeway to push legislation supporting Democratic priorities for 2007-08.

Since all bills related to taxation, appropriations and the federal budget originate in the House, President Bush seems a tad nervous... and prematurely combative... over the prospect of presenting his fiscal 2008 budget to the House next month.

In fact, just yesterday, Mr. Bush penned a same-old-talking-points Wall Street Journal op-ed entitled "What the Congress Can Do for America," and grimly issued a terse companion statement from the White House.

The powerful House Committee Chairs have all been assigned, and they're guaranteed to pack a painful wallop to the Bush agenda. Conyers at Judicial, Dingell at Energy and Commerce, Rangel at Ways & Means, Rahall at Natural Resources, Skelton at Armed Forces... yikes! It's enough to make any any Bushie wince.

At House Committee Chairs for the 110th Congress, 2007-08, I've explained the legislative and oversight plans of the various committee chairs. House Committee Chairs are powerful and highly sought after, and these men and women will exert great influence over the course of the new Congress.

In my opinion, the media brouhaha over Rep. Jane Harman being passed over as chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Intelligence was a veritable tempest in a teapot. Chair Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a moderate Democrat who is a decorated Vietnam veteran and a former U.S. Border Patrol agent, is eminently qualified to led the House Intelligence committtee.

Personally, I believe that Rep. Harman repeatedly showed questionable judgment in many of her remarks about the Iraq War and the NSA surveillance program, and that Speaker Pelosi made a sound decision to replace Harman with Rep. Reyes. Nancy Pelosi has rmoved on. Let's hope Jane Harman has done the same...

U.S. Senate
Sen Harry Reid of Nevada was sworn in today as the influential Senate Majority Leader. While Reid is an excellent, party-coalescing leader, the Democrats have a shaky hold on the Senate with a razor-thin margin of 51-49... if you count the two Independents as Democrats.

And then there's what the Washington Post calls "the elephant in the room": the extremely fragile health of Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota.

In mid December, the 2-term senator suffered a stroke-like attack in his Senate office. The 60-year-old senator underwent surgery for intracerebral bleeding, and 3 weeks later, remains in critical but stable condition. You can read updates of Sen. Johnson's health conditon here.

Reports the Washington Post today:

"His office made it clear yesterday that the South Dakota Democrat's recovery from a brain hemorrhage will be slow and that he will not be voting anytime soon. He spent his 60th birthday last week in the intensive-care unit of George Washington University Hospital, where he has been in critical condition since emergency brain surgery Dec. 13.

He has not spoken since the surgery, said a spokesman, and he remains on a ventilator at night. Johnson is up for reelection in two years, but until then no authority can remove him from office."

Robert Longley, About.com's Guide to Gov't Info, explains it more clearly:

"Despite the unfortunate fact that Sen. Johnson remains in critical condition following emergency brain surgery, there is no constitutional requirement that he be forced to step down. Traditionally, indeed legally, such replacements are required only when a senator resigns or dies in office...

Senate rules impose no minimum attendance or voting requirements on senators."

Interestingly, Robert points out that if Democrats are the majority party on January 4... today... that they will "retain majority control of the committees until 2009, even though they no longer represented a majority of the 100 senators."

And as my grandfather would say about horses, the new Senate Committee Chairs are chomping at the bit and raring to go.

Boxer at Environment, Leahy at Judicial, Biden at Foreign Relations, Conrad at Budget, Kennedy at Health, Education, Labor & Pensions... the list reads like a Democrat's dream and a Bush Administration nightmare. Take the time to read Senate Committee Chairs in the 110th Congress, 2007-08.

One Last Toast to New Year 2007
So raise your champagne glasses (and coffee mugs): let's all make one last toast to New Year 2007: May Congressional Democrats not squander the gift bestowed upon them by U.S. voters to wisely and substantially change the course of this country.

And may Speaker of the House Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid be wildly successful in implementing their New Direction for America.

After all, isn't the United States supposed to be For All Americans, Not Just a Privileged Few?

Recommended Reading
Naysayers to Pelosi's 100-Hour Agenda Are Out of Touch with Americans
House Committee Chairs for 110th Congress, 2007-08
Senate Committee Chairs for 110th Congress, 2007-08
Sen. Johnson Not Required to Step down (US Gov't Info)
New York Times, Jan 4, 2006: Bush Reaches Out, but Keeps One Hand on the Wheel
Washington Post, Jan 4, 2006: Passed Over by Pelosi, Harman Doesn't Get Even. She Gets Mad.<