by Patricia Guadalupe
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The first session of the 11Oth Congress began in 2007 with a pair of significant f rsts for the Hispanic community:
Representative Nydia Velázquez of New York became the first Latina ever to chair a full congressional committee when she took over the House Small Business Committee, and Silvestre Reyes of Texas became the first Hispanic to chair the influential House Select Committee on Intelligence.
The year began with high expectations on a number of fronts, including immigration.
Democrats had largely run in 2006 on the promise that if they won control of Congress, they would certainly take up comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to legalize many of the estimated 12 million undocumented persons residing in the United States.
The Senate took on the issue almost immediately, but supporters were repeatedly blocked by a vocal anti-immigrant faction that took advantage of the fact that the Democrats held only a razor-thin majority in the upper chamber.
For legislation that normally requires at least 60 votes to pass, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could count on no more than 51. He tried and failed a couple of times to move bills forward. By summer it became clear that reform was out of reach, at least until after the 2008 elections.
At least the Senate tried. Ho use leaders repeatedly declared they would not take up the issue if the Senate failed to pass it. It was a bitter pill for the millions who had anticipated a friendlier atmosphere on Capitol Hill. Congress also failed to pass the so-called Dream Act, which would have permitted some undocumented high school graduates to pay in-state tuition and to apply for legal residency.
Additionally, Congress was unsuccessful in passing legislation that would have granted temporary residency to undocumented agricultural workers. Ag JOBS failed to move, even with agribusiness support.
But not all was gloom and doom. Members did manage to pass the f rst increase in ten years in the federal minimum wage. Democrats touted the measure as a great benefit to Latino families.
KIDS HEALTH BILL VETOED
Latino advocates for expansion of the State Childrenʼs Health Insurance Program were disheartened by the legislatureʼs failure three times to override President Bushʼs veto. SCHIP targets children in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to pay for their own coverage. Forty percent of Latino children with health insurance receive coverage through SCHIP.
Supporters sought to expand the program from its current level of four million children to 10 million. The president vetoed the bill as too costly.
All three Latino senators, Republican Mel Martinez of Florida and Democrats Robert Menéndez of New Jersey and Ken Salazar of Colorado, voted for passage of the controversial legislation to expand wiretaps and eavesdropping without a court warrant measure the American Civil Liberties Union called unconstitutional and “un-American.”
The legislation also allows the CIA to engage in “harsh” interrogation tactics without significant oversight. The ACLU and other groups criticized the Congress end Democrats in particular for “caving in to unwarranted hysteria” fueled by the White House in the fight against terrorism.
Lawmakers were more sublime about passage of a free trade agreement with Peru. Supporters celled its passage a major victory in a Congress controlled by Democrats who ere less inclined then Republicans to approve trade bills. As did its 1993 counterpart North American Free Trade Agreement (with Canada and Mexico), the pact allows for greater exchange of goods, relaxing some tariffs and removing other barriers.
Other Latin American trade pacts languished. Legislators declined to support one with Colombia, accusing its government of close ties with paramilitary groups. The government of Alvaro Uribe spent millions unsuccessfully lobbying the U.S. Congress to green- light a trade pact.
Congress came under fire for not making any signifi cant change in the Bush administrationʼs Iraq policy, which polls show to be strongly opposed by Latino voters.
Repeatedly blocked from passage was any legislation that contained en exit plan or troop departure date.
Legislators went home for the holiday recess after passing a massive budget bill that contained funding for nearly all federal agencies and departments except the Defense Department for fiscal year 2008, which began in October.
Democrats had originally sought e funding increase averaging seven percent, while the White House proposed just one percent. Democrats and the White House clashed over funding for a wide range of programs, including food stamps, student loans, home heating assistance for low-income families, rural healthcare and urban renewal funding, among others.
Republicans garnered enough support to reject a nearly $22 billion increase for domestic spending, and gained approval for most of the funding the president wanted for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
BORDER FENCING FUNDED
A little-known measure in the bill earmarks funding for fencing a portion of the U.S. Mexico border, but for just 300 miles, not the 700 supporters had originally proposed.
Congressional observers call this first session of the new Democratic majority a “mixed bag,” while congressional leaders argue that more change will come only with the election of more Democrats in 2003— enough to stop what they cell Republican obstructionism.
Republicans naturally disagree, arguing that they are the ones prioritizing what Latinos and others in the country want from Congress.
(Patricia Guadalupe has been covering Capitol Hill for Hispanic Link and other national media for 15 years.)
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