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Politics

Brown-Waite: It's still a House divided

By ELENA LESLEY
Published January 21, 2007

Though Democrats had promised a more open and collaborative U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite said the new Congress' first 100 hours haven't been any less divisive than usual.

For starters, the parties can't agree on how to keep time.

"It's up to interpretation," said Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville. "It's like 15 minutes in football. It takes forever."

To highlight the House's cohesiveness, Speaker Nancy Pelosi had pledged to address a specific set of issues during the first 100 hours.

But even though Brown-Waite voted for most of Pelosi's agenda, she said she's not impressed with the Democratic-dominated House.

"We keep hearing bipartisan, bipartisan, bipartisan," said the congresswoman, who is in the minority party for the first time in her career. "But you don't ram bills through, especially with so many freshmen."

The congresswoman added that Democrats were not providing the "open government we were promised" since they ushered through a change to the Rules Committee. Because debate on a bill is limited in the House, the committee decides for how long and under what guidelines a bill will be debated.

"Now there's no public record of the votes in the Rules Committee," she said, which makes the process more opaque than it was before.

Still, Brown-Waite voted in favor of recommendations made by the 9/11 commission, an increased minimum wage, stem cell research, cutting back interest rates on student loans and cutting subsidies for oil companies while investing in renewable energy sources.

She spoke out against a bill that would allow negotiation of lower medication costs for those enrolled in Medicare prescription drug plans. The congresswoman said she worried the specific bill would limit medication options, but said she supported the concept of negotiation on drug prices.

Even though members from both parties voted for bills on Pelosi's agenda, Brown-Waite said she didn't think this indicated a more bipartisan mood in Congress.

"The Democrats are doing what we've done before," she said. Many of the issues Pelosi chose have garnered bipartisan support in previous congresses, she explained.

The war in Iraq, however, remains a truly divisive issue.

Brown-Waite said she was not sure yet whether she would support or oppose President Bush's call for a troop surge.

"I'm still researching and listening to the arguments," she said. "I want iron-clad assurances that our troops won't be on the front line."

Regardless of support in the House, and what members eventually pass, Brown-Waite said the Democratic majority will face the same problem their Republican predecessors did.

"The other side (Senate) has its own views," she said. "A philosophical divide between the two houses will always exist."

Fast Facts:

How Brown-Waite voted on key issues

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: Have the government negotiate for lower prescription drug prices for Medicare patients.

STEM CELL RESEARCH: Expand federally funded stem cell research.

MINIMUM WAGE: Raise the federal minimum wage.

TERRORISM: Support the recommendations by the 9/11 Commission.

STUDENT LOANS: Reduce interest rates on student loans.

ENERGY: Cut subsidies for oil companies while investing in renewable energy sources.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 07:22:26]