WEEK ENDING JANUARY 8, 1999

106th Congress Convenes, Hastert Assumes Speakership

House members sworn-in, elect Hastert Speaker. The House of Representatives convened Wednesday, January 6, for the official swearing-in ceremony, the election of the Speaker of the House, and to adopt some rules changes. The chamber welcomed the forty new members elected in November and voted along party lines, 220 - 205, to elect Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) as Speaker of the House in the 106th Congress. Hastert defeated House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) for the top position and replaces former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who will resign his House seat later this year. Hastert vowed to work on a bipartisan basis to advance the agenda of the House. He has not yet revealed his list of legislative priorities, but has mentioned providing Americans with substantial tax relief in previous statements. The House has recessed until January 19, the date of President Clinton's State of the Union address.

Senators kick-off new session amid impeachment quandary. The 100 Senators also were sworn-in on Wednesday, but had little time to focus on the new session ahead as they began their duty as jurors for the impeachment of President Clinton on Thursday. It remains unclear how long the impeachment proceedings will last and what impact it will have on the Senate's legislative agenda.

Rep. Archer highlights Ways and Means agenda. House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer (R-TX) indicated that his committee will focus on four key issues in 1999: Social Security, cutting taxes, promoting free trade, and welfare reform. The committee will host its first hearing on January 20 on the state of the economy, featuring testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

House leaders introduce bill to repeal the estate tax. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) and a host of other influential House Republicans introduced legislation (H.R. 86) to repeal the federal estate tax. According to House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Chris Cox (R-CA), "As the date rolls in, the case for the death tax evaporates. It's time to make tax policy more sensible, and repealing the complicated and costly death tax should be goal one." AIADA advocates eliminating the death tax.

Quote of the Week:
"If President Clinton is his
party's Phil Donohue, Elizabeth Dole
is the GOP's Oprah Winfrey."
Election analyst Stuart Rothenberg

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