A New Year and A New Session of Congress
By Brian Fuller, Agape Life Contributor
updated Fri January 16, 2015
While many brought in the New Year with celebration and excitement of a fresh start, seventy-four newly elected members to Congress were preparing for their new term. The New Year marks the start of another Congressional session as the 114th Congress begins its session on Tuesday, January 6th. Seventy-four new members will spend their first few days of the year catching up on relevant policy and legislation in order to be engaged representatives and senators in year 2015.
While John Boehner (R-OH) was re-elected as Speaker of the House and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) assumes the title of Senate Majority leader, one group of people also experienced great achievement. The Black Caucus celebrated as a new record of African Americans in Congress was reached. The Black Caucus, established in 1971, now includes forty-six members, five of which are newly elected.
After tough races in Virginia, two new members will be added to Congress from Virginia. Democrat Don Beyer, the former lieutenant governor from 1990 to 1998, from Congressional district eight and Republican Dave Brat, an economics professor, from Congressional district seven will be two new additions to Congress.
Although Virginia elected to send one new Democrat to Congress, the Republican Party experienced great election victories in the November 2014 races. As a result, the Republicans now have a majority in both the Senate and the House giving them control of Congress. Republican control of Congress should prove to make a contentious year as President Obama promised Congress he would use Executive Orders to act on the nation’s pressing issues. Upcoming political battles between the White House and Congress are inevitable as President Obama prepares to establish his legacy in the final two years of his presidency.
One of the first items on the agenda of this new Congress is the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Senate Energy Committee is expected to take up the legislation this week and present it to the full chamber. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is hoping that the debate surrounding the pipeline will allow Congress to discuss important issues related to energy in the United States. Republicans are hoping to pass the legislation, which would approve the extension of the pipeline, while President Obama remains doubtful of the large beneficial impact Republicans seem to champion.
With this newly attained control, Republicans may once again revisit a campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act, one of President Obama’s signatures pieces of legislation of his first term. During this session of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats will also have to reach a compromise and create effective legislation to address the increasingly problematic situation at the U.S.-Mexico border; immigration remains a critical issue as thousands of Central American immigrants, especially minors, flee economic in opportunity and violence for the U.S. border. This will be extremely important as the funding for the Department of Homeland Security runs out at the end of February.
Also set to expire early this year is the statutory debt limit. This limits the amount the United States government can borrow, and this will expire mid-March. The debt limit has been an issue linked to funding and appropriations, which both political parties have used as weapons to push their legislation and their preferred spending priorities.
As the first week of year 2015 comes to a close, both the Democratic and Republican parties are gearing up for a year of intense and important political battles that will hopefully tackle a wide range of national issues.
