No doubt, after an undeserved long vacation (hey, I don't get one, why should my representative?), Congress will come back to Washington, and find they have work to do. Wait, let me get out my violin, and uncork a bottle of whine.
Hurdles Await Congress After Recess - WSJ.com:
Congress's Democratic majority made major strides toward implementing its domestic agenda before going home, but will face a large hurdle when lawmakers return at summer's end: President Bush.
Farm, lobbying reform, energy, education and child health insurance bills all advanced in a volatile 10-day march before the recess, establishing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a legislative player. “She was Jaws,” joked Rep. George Miller (D., Calif.) after watching the speaker move around the House floor rounding up votes for the energy bill, her “flagship” priority.
But in the rush to adjourn, Republican anger erupted over a miscalled, late-night House vote. And come September, Democrats dread the prospect of reconciling a dozen spending measures, most of which face veto threats from the president. “I'm waiting for August never to end,” sighed Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.).
The war's impact is twofold. Mr. Bush's fall in the polls because of the war appears to have fed his desire for a confrontation over spending to shore up his support on the right. “He's desperate for a fight,” said Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic caucus.
At the same time, the emotions stirred by Iraq -- and antiwar pressures from the left -- lead Democrats to be more confrontational with the president even when they know they need to find compromises on domestic issues.
“It's a split screen,” admits Mr. Emanuel, who served in the Clinton White House.
With a new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, all these forces will come to bear quickly next month. Before adjourning early yesterday morning, the House approved a $459.6 billion Pentagon budget that will be a major bargaining chip as Democrats try to hold on to an estimated $22 billion that they have added to the president's spending requests for domestic agencies
Technorati Tags: Congress
