Entries for January 03, 2007

I find it a little surprising, but not so dismaying as the Washington Post does, that the incoming House Democratic leadership has decided to try to pass its "100 hours" legislation without holding committee hearings or allowing Republican alternatives to be taken to the floor. Back in January 1995, as House Republicans have pointed out, the new Republican majority at least went through the motions of holding committee hearings on its agenda. And it's a fair point that at least one of the Democrats' proposals, government negotiation of Medicare prescription drug prices, addresses a complex issue on which the process of going through committee deliberations would be a good idea. I take it that the Democrats expect this to be vetoed by George W. Bush or, perhaps, bottled up in the Senate; they don't expect that their bill will become law.