By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com Congressional Correspondent
January 20, 2007
If there is one word to sum up the third week of the 110th Congress, it would be 'Iraq.' But with the conclusion of the Democrats' 'six for '06,' two consumer issues passed the House this week.
Congress was in session every day this week except Monday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. The rest of the week, there were at least seven meetings or hearings per day that outlined the expensive crisis in Iraq. But while that hot topic was grabbing all the headlines, House Democrats passed two more consumer bills:
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H.R.5, the College Student Relief Act, passed by a vote of 365-71. H.R.5 proposes cutting Stafford loan interest rates in half. Although adopted by many on both sides of the aisle, Republicans argued the bill does not address the actual problem, which is skyrocketing tuition. Read more about H.R.5. • H.R.6, the CLEAN Energy Act, passed by a vote of 264-163. H.R.6 aims to fix loopholes for some domestic oil companies. If signed into law, the bill would raise $14 billion which would be reinvested into researching alternative energies. Democrats don't think it's fair that the most profitable industry last year should be getting tax breaks while Republicans fear that repealing the tax breaks could raise prices for consumers and increase dependency on foreign oil. A vague White House statement gives no indication as to whether President George Bush will sign it into law. Read more about H.R.6.Rep. Steve King
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| Rep. King |
He said both H.R.5 and H.R.6 missed the mark for consumers and that the whole "100 hours" of legislation is a "sham and a show."
He repeated the argument that H.R.5 does not actually tackle the problem of student costs. King did advise all people to try and get a college degree.
"I think we could have done more if we increased the Pell Grant program," King said. "But a college degree is a very valuable thing to have ... Consumers should shop for price though. If they really have to go to one of these high-cost institutions, maybe they should consider spending a few years at a cheaper community college and then transfer so they're not so far in debt."
As in the floor debates, King expressed fear that H.R.6 will harm consumers by raising prices at the pump and increasing dependency on foreign oil.
Overall, he said the Democrats' first six bills were "all about campaign rhetoric."
"They are bumper sticker policies," King said.
No Amendments
The Democrats continued their surge of bills this week and no amendments to the first six bills were allowed in the House. This move angered Republicans who hoped to put their marks on the bills. During the week and during our interview this afternoon with King, tempers flared.
At a House Rules meeting which went late into the night on Wednesday, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) called Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), "ethically challenged" for refusing to allow amendments to the Democrats' first six bills.
A verbal tug of war between Sessions and the Democrats continued until he finally agreed to have his remarks struck from the official record.
King shared his frustrations.
"I'm hoping things will change next week," King said in regard to Pelosi's tight control of the House. "If things don't change around here, we (Republicans) will shut this place down. We'll use every legal plug to slow things down to make sure our voices are heard."
The Senate, which was primarily consumed with Iraq, did not pass any major legislation this week. There is a growiing pile of consumer-related House bills waiting for Senate approval. But the Senate is still debating the Ethics Reform Package that the House passed more than two weeks ago.
Last week, all the Senators had left by 2:30 p.m., so this week ConsumerAffairs.com tried to interview a Senator for this week's Capitol Critters at noon. But even though the Friday workday at the Capitol technically ends at 2 p.m., all the Senators had already disappeared.
Despite that, the Senate is expected to tackle H.R.2, which aims to increase the minimum wage, early next week. Although some business incentives may be added to the text, it is expected to be passed in the Senate. King said he believes Bush will sign it into law.
