Democrats in high spirits at Congress takeover

By Tony Czuczka Jan 4, 2007, 18:00 GMT

Washington - Democrats gathered in a festive mood Thursday to take control of the US Congress, vowing to confront President George W Bush over the war in Iraq and domestic policy.

Nancy Pelosi, a congresswoman from California, was set to make history by becoming the first female speaker of the House of Representatives and the most powerful woman in US politics.

Thursday's swearing-in ceremonies in Washington for members of the incoming House and Senate mark the start of a tough new era for Bush, whose Republicans lost control of both houses in November elections.

 'We're not going to be a rubber-stamp Congress. That's going to be the big change. We will provide oversight for Iraq,' James Clyburn, a leader of the new Democratic majority in the House, told Cable News Network (CNN).

While Democrats say their victory showed that Americans want a way out of Iraq, new majority leader Steny Hoyer admitted that his party is unlikely to seriously hamper Bush's role as commander-in-chief of the US military.

But the Democrats plan to open hearings on the administration's Iraq strategy as early as next week and will be using Congress as a stage to hammer Bush for a war he has admitted the US is not winning.

Bush has consistently rejected Democratic calls for a timetable to disengage US forces from Iraq. Instead, he reportedly plans to announce a boost in troop strength this month to help quell sectarian killings in Baghdad and other hot spots.

Seeking a hopeful start, the Democrats plan to use the new House's first 100 hours to pass popular measures such as raising the minimum wage, promoting stem-cell research for disease cures, lowering prescription drug prices for the elderly and enacting ethics reform.

The domestic focus partly reflects a lack of unity among Democrats about how quickly to leave Iraq and the fact that Bush holds broad powers to set foreign and military policy.

Bush has struck a more humble tone since the election and has pledged to work with the Democrats, but he bluntly reminded lawmakers of his power to veto legislation and his opposition to new taxes.

'If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements, they will have chosen stalemate,' he said in a commentary published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal.

The comment incensed Democrats, who called it insulting and accused Republicans of using Congress for political posturing on socially conservative issues such as gay marriage when they were in power.

Yet Democrats are likely to face pressure from their own left wing to deliver on their calls for an exit from Iraq - a fact underscored when anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq, disrupted a celebratory Democratic news conference in Washington on Wednesday.

Pelosi, 66, is not exactly a household name for most Americans. But as House minority leader since 2003, she played a key role in setting the Democratic agenda and election strategy.

A Roman Catholic mother of five, she represents one of the most left-wing districts in the US and has been vilified by Republicans as a tax-happy left-winger - a label she rejects.

Pelosi, who calls herself 'very strong' but shies away from the label 'tough,' has called the US-led invasion of Iraq a mistake - a view shared by a majority of Americans.

As Democrats prepared to take over, signs of conflict emerged even before lawmakers assembled under the white dome of the Capitol building to take the oath of office.

Republicans complained that despite Democratic pledges for more legislative transparency, they were kept out of the drafting of the first package of measures Pelosi wants the new House to pass.

Meanwhile, Republicans signaled they would resist the planned increase in the US minimum wage - the first in a decade - unless it is offset by tax breaks for small businesses.

And while the Democrats have a 16-seat edge in the House, they won only a minimal 51-49 majority in the Senate, limiting their room for manoeuvre.