Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    Turki Al-Sheikh crowned "Most Influential Personality in the Last Decade" at MENA Effie Awards 2024    Saudi Arabia arrests 19,696 illegals in a week    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    GACA: 1029 complaints recorded against airlines, with least complaints in Riyadh and Buraidah airports during October    CMA plans to allow former expatriates in Saudi and other Gulf states to invest in TASI    11 killed, 23 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut    Trump picks billionaire Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary    WHO: Mpox remains an international public health emergency    2 Pakistanis arrested for promoting methamphetamine    Move to ban on establishing zoos in residential neighborhoods    Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Saudi Arabia and Japan to collaborate on training Saudi students in Manga comics Saudi Minister of Culture discusses cultural collaboration during Tokyo visit    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Outgoing Congress charts own course
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 25 - 12 - 2010

Republicans say they will follow «the people's priorities» when they gain power on Capitol Hill next month. Yet when it came to tax cuts for the wealthy and other top issues that dominated the final weeks of the just concluded session of Congress, the Republicans either defied what most Americans want or followed their will only after grudging, drawn-out battles, according to AP.
Relentlessly focused on the next election, politicians are usually loath to act against voter sentiment. Still, the post-election weeks of the 111th Congress saw battles in which Washington seemed oblivious to the direction most people wanted lawmakers to take, as measured by public opinion polls. These included:
_Congress' approval of a compromise between President Barack Obama and congressional Republican leaders renewing expiring tax cuts for everyone, despite broad public opposition to including people earning over $250,000. An Associated Press-CNBC Poll in late November found only 34 percent wanted taxes reduced for the richest Americans.
_The failure of Democrats to approve the Dream Act, which would have helped many young illegal immigrants become citizens if they attend college or join the military. A Gallup Poll this month found 54 percent support for the measure.
_ Roadblocks the Obama administration faced before ultimately persuading the Senate to ratify a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, even as an AP-GfK Poll last month showed 67 percent backing Senate approval of the New START pact.
On each, Republicans led the effort to oppose policies that most people support, though Obama and many Democrats eventually joined them to back tax cuts for upper-income families. Capitalizing on the leverage they gained by winning control of the House of Representatives and extra Senate seats in the November election, the Republicans used Senate procedures to force Democrats to get large majorities to overcome procedural hurdles and prevail. In the case of START, Republican leaders forced delays that in the end were not successful at denying Obama and Democrats the two-thirds Senate majority that the Constitution requires to ratify a treaty.
The Republicans' stance was striking for a party that spent much of the 2010 congressional campaign accusing Democrats of ignoring the public's will, a sentiment echoed by Rep. John Boehner, who is expected to be the next House speaker.
«Beginning in January, the House is going to become the outpost in Washington for the American people and their desire for a smaller, less-costly and more accountable government,» Boehner said. «The president's agenda may be the agenda of Washington, but beginning Jan. 5th the agenda of this House will be the agenda of the American people. The people's priorities will be our priorities.»
On some of the final issues, Obama and Congress listened to what most people want.
While polls show wide concern about record budget deficits, people are leery of addressing the problem by raising taxes or cutting cherished programs like Social Security or Medicare which provide retirement benefits and health care coverage to the elderly. Politicians went nowhere near such unpopular proposals. In a token move that would have little budget impact, Obama proposed freezing federal workers' salaries, which most people support, and Congress quickly agreed.
On other matters, lawmakers were driven more by what each party's strongest supporters wanted, according to analysts on both sides.
«This is definitely a listen-to-your-base lame-duck session,» said Republican pollster Glen Bolger.
On the marquee issue before the outgoing Congress, Obama and Republican leaders reached a deal to retain everyone's tax cuts _ a Republican demand _ for two more years, and to extend unemployment benefits to millions of people whose coverage was expiring, a priority of Democrats and the administration.
Polls by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center and ABC News-Washington Post showed at least 6 in 10 Americans supported that compromise, making the deal easier for many Democrats to back.
But most Democrats opposed giving the tax breaks to the highest-earning Americans, a position that an AP-CNBC poll showed was shared by nearly 2 in 3 people, including 8 in 10 Democrats. In the end, though, many of them were reluctant to reject the compromise, knowing its defeat would mean they had capped 2010 by voting to let peoples' taxes rise in January.
«It says, 'We don't want to be seen as the ones who raise taxes for everyone,»' Democratic pollster Dave Beattie said of why many Democratic lawmakers backed down and supported the tax deal.
It was easy for most Republicans to support the tax legislation, since a majority of their supporters favor upper-income tax cuts.
Many ardent conservatives oppose a new nuclear pact with Russia, eased immigration restrictions and repeal of the «don't ask, don't tell» ban against military service by openly gay people. That gave Republican lawmakers leeway to oppose those measures, despite overall public support for them.
«These are red-meat Republican issues,» said Timothy Nokken, a political science professor at Texas Tech University who studies Congress.
Also making opposition easier for Republicans was their realization that despite the broad backing those issues have, they don't drive the votes of many people.
«Even though there is support for START and repeal of 'don't ask don't tell,' these are not primary core issues for voters, and there's little harm that could come to them by opposing those two,» said Republican consultant Steve Lombardo.


Clic here to read the story from its source.