Expanded Republican Congress set to back Bush

12.30pm


WASHINGTON - Republicans got ready today to flex their muscles as an expanded majority in the US Congress and help push President George W Bush's largely stalled conservative agenda in his second term.

Fresh from a string of Election Day triumphs, Republicans eyed a number of targets. They range from putting more anti-abortion judges on the bench and finally winning approval of a comprehensive energy bill to expanded tax cuts and medical liability reform.

Republicans also plan another crack at winning approval of a proposed White House-backed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

"With a bigger majority, we can do even more exciting things," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, told a local television station in his home state.

Returns from the elections, coupled with TV network and party projections, showed Republicans would hold at least 55 of the 100 Senate seats, four more than they now have, and pick up at least a few seats in the 435-member House of Representatives, where they now hold 227.

"Clearly we now have enough for an energy bill," said Senate Republican campaign chairman George Allen of Virginia.

"Next year is going to be a lot more productive in Congress than this one was," predicted Bruce Josten, a top executive and lobbyist at the US Chamber of Commerce.

Republicans made Democrat Tom Daschle, the Senate minority leader, their top target on Election Day, and it paid off. The South Dakotan became the first Senate leader in a half century to be voted out of office.

Republicans had denounced Daschle as "the chief obstructionist" the past four years to a bevy of Bush measures and nominees.

However, Ethan Siegal of the Washington Exchange, a private firm that tracks Congress for investors, predicted, "There will be greater partisanship in the next Congress because Democrats just got their heads handed to them."

Regardless, Siegal said, with the Senate Republican majority increased, "I think there will less gridlock because it will be easier to break (Senate Democratic) filibusters."

Sixty votes are needed to clear procedural hurdles that Democrats have frequently raised.

Sen Jon Corzine of New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Democratic campaign committee, promised on Wednesday to seek common ground.

"But we will not flinch from using the tools available to us to protect and advance our party's views and values on behalf of the American people," Corzine said.

On the other side of Capitol Hill, House Republican campaign chairman Tom Reynolds of New York sounded triumphant and combative.

"This morning (House) Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi woke up with a black eye," Reynolds said. "Not only did she fail in her guarantee to lead the Democrats back to a House majority, but she lost seats."

At midday on Wednesday, the race in Alaska became the last Senate contest to be decided. TV networks projected Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski winner over Democrat Tony Knowles.

While the Senate will be more conservative next year, the nearly all-white chamber will also be more diverse.

Entering the Senate when the 109th Congress convenes in January will be Democrat Barack Obama, an African-American from Illinois, and Hispanics Ken Salazar of Colorado and Mel Martinez in Florida, a Democrat and Republican, respectively.

- REUTERS