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A year of modest deeds for Congress

WASHINGTON - Congress finished some perennial projects this year, like energy, highway and bankruptcy bills, but stumbled over or ignored some of President Bush's priorities.

"If it were an ordinary year, a traditional year, sort of a simple first year of a president's second term, you would have to say he had a pretty good year," said Stephen Hess, public affairs professor at George Washington University.

"If you want to look at what he tried to do and didn't do," Hess added, "that list could look pretty robust."

The president handed Congress an ambitious agenda for his fifth year in office. He asked lawmakers to drastically revamp Social Security, prevent his tax cuts from expiring, rewrite the nation's immigration laws and restrain government spending.

Bush's Social Security program, which included personal accounts for younger workers, faced united Democratic opposition and public skepticism. It quickly fell flat. Efforts to eliminate estate taxes and keep lower capital gains and dividend tax rates on the books struggled for support while moderate Republicans worried about federal budget deficits. Congress waited until the end of the year to engage in the immigration debate.

A year of work toward cutting government spending bore fruit and invigorated Republicans, both conservative and moderate. It led to an across-the-board spending cut - only veterans' programs were spared - and a $40-billion package of program reductions awaiting final action next year.

"With the passage of this deficit reduction act, including an across-the-board cut in federal spending, the "Republican Revolution' is back," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who leads a group of House conservatives.

Many of Congress' achievements this year were more modest than the goals Bush set for lawmakers.

The achievements included a popular highway bill that doled out billions in transportation projects across the country. A bankruptcy measure made it tougher to erase debt obligations. Energy legislation offered billions of dollars in tax subsidies to energy companies and fostered a wider mix of energy sources in future years.

"If anything, this is sort of a tinkering Congress," said Forrest Maltzman, a political science professor at George Washington University.

It didn't help, Maltzman said, that the president lacked one of his powerful generals, Rep. Tom DeLay. The Texas Republican stepped aside from his duties as House majority leader when indicted on state charges of money laundering.

But, then, there were distractions. Two Supreme Court vacancies produced three nominees to fill the voids and three confirmations for the Senate to consider.

Hurricane Katrina tried to wipe the Gulf Coast off the map, and two hurricanes followed. Among its last acts, Congress funneled $29-billion to hurricane recovery and reconstruction.

In some cases, Congress pushed back against presidential dictates, to the frustration of GOP leaders at times.

The Senate this week killed a bid to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil exploration. Republicans bucked the president and enacted laws prohibiting the cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment of anyone in U.S. custody anywhere in the world. Lawmakers extended the Bush administration's antiterrorism law enforcement powers for a month, to resume a debate over civil liberties next year.

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 01:10:16]