The 114th Congress opened its first legislative session on Jan. 6. In their first month, legislators have already begun tackling legislation, and Obama, on key issues that will affect Americans from all walks of life.
The first day of session: Tea Party pinprick
Republicans took control of the session and were eager to get major GOP agenda items in front of President Barack Obama to force his support or veto. However, the first controversy to arise was the narrow victory of John Boehner for his third term as speaker of the house. Boehner received the most dissenting votes in history from within the majority party, most of them coming from the Tea Party contingent.
Killing abortion: A never-ending campaign
Emboldened by their new majority status, Republicans immediately addressed one of the most controversial issues, abortion legislation. Two lawmakers introduced abortion ban bills on the first day of the session. Even if those bills make it to the floor, there’s no guarantee they’ll pass, even with a Republican majority. A vote on a 20-week abortion ban bill was scheduled to take place on Jan. 22 but was cancelled after Republican congresswomen stepped in, concerned the bill made the party look bad. Instead, Republicans plan to attack Obama’s healthcare plan, which would have the same net effect of reducing women’s reproductive healthcare options and coverage.
With 245 seats in the House for Republicans and 188 for Democrats, future legislation favoring the conservative wing will likely find clear passage after a simple majority vote. Then, it’s on to the Senate where Republicans hold a 54-44 majority. In order to overturn a presidential veto, two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate must approve any bill, an unlikely event considering the House is only 57 percent Republican and Republicans hold a Senate majority by a mere count of 10.
So, anti-abortion measures still have an uphill climb despite the Republican majority.
5 major items on the agenda
Last November, Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who at the time was the minority leader, vowed to take apart the Affordable Care Act, pass the Keystone XL pipeline, boost veteran employment, tackle international trade agreements, reform tax laws, limit executive funding on immigration actions and limit the Environmental Protection Agency, among other conservative agenda items.
1. Terrorism: Early on in their opening 2015 sessions, both the House and the Senate approved a six-year extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The president signed it the following Monday on Jan. 12. The law authorizes the federal government to pay businesses after catastrophic terrorist attacks exceeding $200 million in damage. It also ends some controversial financial regulations that many Democrats oppose.
2. Paid family and sick leave: President Obama wants Congress to pass a mandatory policy granting paid family and sick leave for workers, but Republicans are not likely to comply.
3. Child immigration protections: On Jan. 14, the House overturned the president’s protections of immigrant children who arrive to the U.S. illegally. Yesterday, the bill to block immigration reforms failed to get the 60 votes it needed to advance in the Senate, but Senate Republicans vow to try again this week. The bill is also tied to funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and those funds are set to expire at the end of the month. Even if this version of the bill did make its way to the White House, the president would surely veto it.
4. Keystone XL pipeline: The House of Representatives will vote next week on the Keystone XL pipeline bill that was approved by the Senate. It will likely pass but will surely be vetoed by President Obama; in that case, earning a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to override the veto would pose a challenge.
5. ‘Obamacare’: More problematic for Republicans, and perhaps most important to them, is the challenge of repealing President Obama’s health care law. The Supreme Court has ruled the law constitutional, but the legislative branch can attempt to strip the law of power through additional legislation. GOP legislators are waiting to hear the outcome of another Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell, before introducing such bills. The Associated Press reports that by April 2014, nearly 7.5 million Americans had enrolled in the program.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Avvo.
Photo: Examiner.com
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