ARTICLE LINK:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115...ff_main_tff_top
ARTICLE EXERPT:
QUOTE
Congress's Fall Agenda Takes Shape
Seeking Party Unity Before Elections,
Republicans Shelve Domestic Policy for Security Issues
By DAVID ROGERS
September 5, 2006; Page A4
WASHINGTON -- The most telltale clue to Congress's fall agenda may be an item that still may be added: middle-class tax cuts.
Down in polls and divided internally, Republicans want to block debate on domestic policy and shift attention to national-security issues that command more party unity. But census data last week highlighted the economic squeeze on many families, and House leaders are considering a pre-election bid to make permanent the $1,000 child tax credit and marriage penalty relief provisions enacted in 2001.
[Bill Frist]
Like most of the Bush administration's tax breaks, these are due to expire at the end of 2010, when top rates for the wealthy and capital gains also will be in play. The strategy has been to wait until close to the deadline and then call up all of these issues at once, making it harder for Democrats to resist. But in the current political climate, the leadership could accelerate action on provisions for middle-income taxpayers if it means preserving Republican control of Congress in November.
The backroom talks capture the uncertain mood in the Capitol as lawmakers return -- the Senate today and the House tomorrow afternoon -- for an abbreviated pre-election session. "Everybody's tentative; it's a tentative time," says Rep. Deborah Pryce (R., Ohio), who heads up the party conference and finds herself in an unusual battle for re-election.
One of the few certainties is that Republicans want to return to their districts at the end of the month and are preparing for a lame-duck session because they won't finish work before Election Day.
[Dennis Hastert]
The House has scheduled 11 full days of legislative work this month after Thursday's vote to curb the slaughter of U.S. horses -- a bill that has prompted dark jokes among Republicans about what awaits lawmakers if they don't get back on the campaign trail. To a remarkable degree, the leadership is prepared to risk the label of a "Do-Nothing Congress" if it means getting rank-and-file members on the hustings.
"They see every day they are in session as a bad day for them," says Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
This month's emphasis on national security dovetails with the Bush administration's campaign to portray Democrats as defeatist and indecisive on Iraq and the war against terror. "
...
CONT
Seeking Party Unity Before Elections,
Republicans Shelve Domestic Policy for Security Issues
By DAVID ROGERS
September 5, 2006; Page A4
WASHINGTON -- The most telltale clue to Congress's fall agenda may be an item that still may be added: middle-class tax cuts.
Down in polls and divided internally, Republicans want to block debate on domestic policy and shift attention to national-security issues that command more party unity. But census data last week highlighted the economic squeeze on many families, and House leaders are considering a pre-election bid to make permanent the $1,000 child tax credit and marriage penalty relief provisions enacted in 2001.
[Bill Frist]
Like most of the Bush administration's tax breaks, these are due to expire at the end of 2010, when top rates for the wealthy and capital gains also will be in play. The strategy has been to wait until close to the deadline and then call up all of these issues at once, making it harder for Democrats to resist. But in the current political climate, the leadership could accelerate action on provisions for middle-income taxpayers if it means preserving Republican control of Congress in November.
The backroom talks capture the uncertain mood in the Capitol as lawmakers return -- the Senate today and the House tomorrow afternoon -- for an abbreviated pre-election session. "Everybody's tentative; it's a tentative time," says Rep. Deborah Pryce (R., Ohio), who heads up the party conference and finds herself in an unusual battle for re-election.
One of the few certainties is that Republicans want to return to their districts at the end of the month and are preparing for a lame-duck session because they won't finish work before Election Day.
[Dennis Hastert]
The House has scheduled 11 full days of legislative work this month after Thursday's vote to curb the slaughter of U.S. horses -- a bill that has prompted dark jokes among Republicans about what awaits lawmakers if they don't get back on the campaign trail. To a remarkable degree, the leadership is prepared to risk the label of a "Do-Nothing Congress" if it means getting rank-and-file members on the hustings.
"They see every day they are in session as a bad day for them," says Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
This month's emphasis on national security dovetails with the Bush administration's campaign to portray Democrats as defeatist and indecisive on Iraq and the war against terror. "
...
CONT