106th Congress leaves 107th a full in-basket

Monday, Dec. 18, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- The outgoing Congress that adjourned on Friday left behind a tall stack of unfinished business for the more evenly divided Congress that arrives in January.

Members of George W. Bush's incoming administration are making clear, however, that they aren't ready to back away from their conservative agenda. That includes big tax cuts and vouchers for private school tuition.

"It's his program, it's his agenda, and we have no intention at all of backing off of it," Vice President-elect Dick Cheney said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." "The suggestion that somehow because this was a close election we should fundamentally change our beliefs, I just think is silly."

Democrats say a strongly conservative agenda won't wash in the new, more closely divided Congress and is at odds with Bush's call for cooperation across party lines.

"I can't think of anything that would divide this nation more quickly right off the bat" than Bush's $1.3 trillion, 10-year tax cut, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said on ABC's "This Week" program.

In an even more blunt retort, the No. 2 Democratic leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the new GOP team hasn't faced up to the political realities posed by a Senate that will be split 50-50 between the parties.

"Cheney is in denial like the rest of the Republicans," Reid said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Cheney said he and Bush are reaching out to Democrats to create coalitions on individual issues, but he said they won't be chastened by the close and disputed election outcome.

"Sometimes the presidents with the closest margins have turned out to be the most effective," Cheney said. "We've got a good program, and we're going to pursue it."

The old Congress left a legacy of partisanship and bitter divisions that began with the impeachment trial of President Clinton.

Its end came with a whimper. Unable to finish spending decisions before the elections Nov. 7, Congress returned for a lame-duck session that outlasted the presidential election dispute. It finished Friday when Clinton and legislative leaders agreed to spend more for education, health and other programs.

Republicans who control the outgoing Congress touted its accomplishments, such as paying down the national debt. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, called them "historic achievements that were unthinkable" when Democrats held the majority.

Democrats said it was a do-nothing Congress.

Both sides acknowledged that much of the 106th Congress was given over to political jousting, as each party maneuvered for popular high ground on health care, taxes and fiscal issues.

"On many important issues, bipartisan cooperation and common sense solutions never even got a chance," says Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

The list of accomplishments is fairly short. One of the most significant was overhauling and modernizing federal banking laws. The new law replaces the antiquated Glass-Steagall Act, passed in 1933, which put up barriers for the types of services that banks and insurance companies could offer.

Permanent normal trade status for China was enacted with votes from both parties. Clinton relied on Republicans to make up for defecting liberal Democrats.

Congress permitted a greater influx of immigrants with high-tech skills, a change sought by technology companies in need of qualified workers.

Congress also approved a long-term cleanup of Florida's fragile and endangered Everglades.

Congress fought over the budget, taxes and spending, but the result was a significant $354 billion pay-down of the national debt. At the same time, lawmakers boosted spending for health and medical research, education and defense. Congress gave the military a pay raise. It also raised lawmakers' annual salaries from $141,300 to $145,100.

The list of failures is longer; the major items will fill the in-basket of the new Congress.

A prescription drug benefit for senior citizens, currently the major gap in Medicare coverage, became an object of political debate that framed the fall elections but was not fully settled by them.

New rights for patients dealing with their HMOs and other managed-care health plans also fell short. Both parties claimed support but splintered over the details.

A bill increasing the $5.15-an-hour federal minimum wage by $1 over two years passed the House but died in the Senate.

Campaign finance reform proposals that would ban unregulated "soft money" from corporations and special interests fell short.

Each of these issues could become a battleground in the new Congress, but a middle ground might be found if both sides want to compromise.