Pelosi and her first hundred hours

It is over and in the books.

Was the first hundred hours a success or failure for The Democrats?

It took the Democrats about 87 hours to pass the six bills they promised during the 2006 election... The did get all of the bills passed in a timely fashion.

They refused to allow The Republicans to participate in the legislative process... This is 100% disappointing. One of the main Democratic pledges was that they would rule in a bi-partisan fashion. This has NOT been the case so far.

Lets look at their six bills.

1. They promised to make ALL of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission into law. They passed a 278 page bill with a vote of 299 in favor vs 128 against. This Bill will enact most of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; however, it does not enact one of the changes the 9/11 Commission wanted the most. It does NOT change the way oversight is done by Congress. About 1/3 of the Republicans voted for this Bill. Mark Souder voted against it.

I will say The Dems kept this promise; however, it is disappointing that they kept about 80% of the promise rather then 100% of their promise.

2. They promised to increase the Minimum wage. They passed a three page bill with a vote of 315 in favor and 116 against. This Bill raises the Minimum Wage in all fifty states. For some really stupid reason the Dems decides to increase the Minimum wage in The Northern Marianas Islands and NOT to increase the Minimum wage in American Somoa. This was dirty politics and anyone who looks into the matter knows it. Nancy Pelosi made a mistake with this one... If they are going to raise the minimum wage for one US Territory they should raise it for all US Territories... About 40% of the Republicans voted for this one. Mark Souder voted against it.

They actually passed a three page bill, and this is a GOOD thing.

I will say The Dems kept this promise; however, they made a mistake by including one territory that used to be exempt and then excluded another US territory that used to be exempt.

3. They promised to expand Federal Stem Cell Research. They passed a three page Bill with a vote of 253 in favor and 174 against. Most Republicans voted against this Bill. Mark Souder voted against the Bill.

The Democrats kept this promise 100% AND they limited the Bill to three pages. Impressive to say the least.

4. The Democrats promised to pass a Bill that would allow the Government to negotiate with the Drug Companies for bulk discounts. They passed a three page Bill with a vote of 255 in favor and 170 against. Most Republicans voted against this Bill. Mark Souder voted against this Bill.

The Democrats kept this promise and they limited the Bill to three pages. Impressive.

5. The Democrats promised to cut the interest rates on Student Loans. This is an 11 page Bill. This Bill passed with 356 in favor and 71 opposed. About 60% of the Republicans voted in favor of this Bill. Mark Souder voted against this Bill.

This Bill is poorly written. It SLOWLY lowers the interest rates over several years. It certainly does NOT immediately cut the student loan interest rates in half.

The Democrats made a feeble attempt at this Bill and did not quite keep this promise.

6. The Dems promised to end some subsidies to big oil and to invest that money in renewable energy. This is a 14 page Bill. It passed 264 - 163. Most Republicans voted against this Bill. Mark Souder voted against this Bill.

The Democrats kept this promise.

All in all I have to say that The Democrats kept five of their six promises for Bills they waited to pass, they did it in less then 100 hours; however, they rammed the Bills through and used the same tactics that they promised NOT to use.

Overall I have to say The Democrats kept most of their initial promises...

Mike Sylvester