SPECIAL REPORT: The New Congress National Journal looks at demands by traditional liberal interest groups as Democrats begin to map their long-term agenda for the 110th Congress. Environment · Labor · Education · Gun Control · Entitlements · Abortion · Minorities · Gay Rights · Trial Lawyers Related Resources On NationalJournal.com The Freshmen: Profiles Of Newly Elected Lawmakers · The New Leadership: Reid's Smooth Start (12/09/06) · The New Leadership: A Sitdown With Mitch McConnell (1/13/07) · Bipartisanship: Getting To 60 (1/13/07) · Lobbying & Law: Back To Basics (1/6/07) · Congressional Chronicle: Cold Turkey On Pork (12/16/06) · Poll Track: National Polling On Congress [an error occurred while processing this directive]

By Richard E. Cohen, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Jan. 26, 2007

With Republicans controlling Capitol Hill for the better part of the past dozen years, liberal interest groups grew accustomed to frustration and frequent setbacks. So now that congressional Democrats are finally back in power, it's no surprise that their interest-group allies are breathing a collective sigh of relief in offices all across Washington -- along with putting together lengthy wish lists of pent-up agenda items.

"When Republicans were in control, it was all about stopping bad things from happening," said Dave Noble, public policy director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "And we feel now, it's all a matter of how we can start moving things forward." Added Antonia Cortese, executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers: "We're very optimistic that we are going from a 'Do-Nothing' Congress to a Congress that does something."

After a whirlwind transition from the minority to the majority and quick House action on the first-100-hours legislation, congressional Democratic leaders are just beginning to map their long-term agenda. Liberal advocates -- from environmentalists, to labor unions, to gun control and abortion-rights organizations -- are eager to steer lawmakers toward their long-stalled issues. And some of these groups seem to have high hopes, judging by a series of interviews with National Journal reporters.

In December, civil-rights organizations got together to agree on issues to pursue in the 110th Congress. They came up with no fewer than 16 priorities [PDF]. These and other groups contend that congressional Democrats must go well beyond the six limited, and poll-tested, proposals in the 100-hours agenda -- such as raising the minimum wage and lowering student-loan interest rates -- to please their liberal base.

"After we get past these 100 hours, there are a lot more hours left, and we hope we can devote time to the needs of low-income people," said Linda Couch, deputy director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

"There will be ... those [lawmakers] who believe that a vote for [a higher] minimum wage is enough to satisfy labor," said Mike Mathis, the Teamsters' government-affairs director. "That's not going to be the case. We are going to hold the [Democratic] leadership accountable for the promises they made during the campaign."

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, was even blunter. After running middle-of-the-road election campaigns that paid little attention to the ACLU's chief concerns, such as trial rights for terrorism suspects, "we hope the Democrats have found their spine again," Romero said. "The 'playing-along-to-get-along' approach is not going to work."

Nevertheless, other interest groups are "playing along," at least to some degree, with the effort by key Democratic lawmakers to tamp down expectations and concentrate on a pragmatic, achievable agenda for the next two years. Carl Pope, the executive director of the Sierra Club, is already cautioning the environmental community not to expect immediate gratification from the Democratic Congress on a strong global-warming bill.

"I don't think this Congress is going to regulate carbon dioxide, but they have to make it clear that they're eventually going to regulate carbon dioxide," Pope said. "My question is, is my constituency going to be sufficiently patient?"

Likewise, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, is talking up a commonsense approach that she says Americans want to see from their policy makers. "They've got two years to deliver and prove to the American public that they get it," Keenan says of Democrats in Congress. "That they understand that people want solutions and are tired of the divisiveness."

In this series of articles examining the wish lists of traditional Democratic interest groups, it is clear that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., have their work cut out for them. While planning their agendas, Democratic leaders must balance the demands for sweeping initiatives from liberal groups and their congressional champions against other political -- and practical -- considerations. The leaders are mindful that President Bush is still in the White House, and that Democrats won their relatively narrow majorities by attracting swing voters and electing a big batch of moderates. And the Democrats are also constrained by new "pay-as-you-go" budget rules, and by the ticking clock, because a 2008 presidential campaign deadlock will soon be setting in on the Hill.

At this point, more than a few lawmakers, strategists, and activists in each party are wondering what, exactly, is next for Hill Democrats. Front and center, of course, is dealing with Iraq, followed by action on must-pass budget and appropriations legislation. Beyond those issues, Pelosi and Reid only hinted at what lies ahead, during a January 19 appearance billed as their "national address on the State of Our Union." They talked, for instance, about taking steps to increase energy independence, combat global warming, and help the more than 8 million American children without health insurance.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., emphasized last week that Democrats have only begun the process of defining and moving an agenda. "I have asked [the chairmen] to go through their committees of jurisdiction and responsibility and to, in effect, construct their own agenda so that we can have that collated, if you will, and that we can then schedule the floor over the next 18 months to accomplish the objectives."

Starting the actual legislative sausage-making will take time. Capitol Hill offices typically have aides who serve as liaisons to interest groups and the lobbying community. But contacts with the advocacy groups are in "their nascent stages," said a House Democratic leadership aide. "We know what they are looking for," the aide added. "But much of what they want costs money, and we have to get a focus on our budget blueprint."

Asked recently about his plans as chairman of the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., replied that committee aides have been discussing options with their contacts in organized labor, but that he and other members are just now getting into the specifics. Plus, he said, he will need to check with party leaders before making final decisions.

"Labor is an important force in the American economy, and I want to assist them," Andrews said. "Speaker Pelosi also has a responsibility to balance the needs of the whole House."

The new congressional majorities aren't the only ones who have some early kinks to work out. After spending much of 2006 battling at the grassroots in too-close-to-call election campaigns, some interest groups seem to be caught a bit off guard by the outcome. Now the groups are scrambling to fine-tune their game plans and get on the same page.

"It's almost like you have to turn the ship around and scrape the rust from the bottom," acknowledged Anna Aurilio, director of the Washington office of U.S. PIRG.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Need A Reprint Of This Article?
National Journal Group offers both print and electronic reprint services, as well as permissions for academic use, photocopying and republication. Click here to order, or call us at 877-394-7350.