It’s a good day to be a Democrat!

By: Luis Oviedo
Contributing Writer

This midterm election has been one of great changes in the United States legislature. Today is a good day to be a Democrat, as they now control the House and Senate along with 28 of the 50 governorships. But this Congress has already made history by having, for the first time in United States history, a female speaker of the House. Nancy Pelosi of California is slated as the next speaker and third in line for the presidency of the United States (this would only happen if both Bush and Chaney come to fatal ends by snack food and a heart issue, respectively) in this new Congress, 229 seats now belong to the Democrats, 196 to Republicans and 10 are still undecided, but the minimum needed to take control of the house (218 seats) has already been taken. In the Senate, two independents have entered the upper house and have decided to caucus with the Democrats, which gives them the Senate as well. This change means many things for this country as the Democrats are coming up with a list of items which can be met within their first “100 hours” control. On this list are things which directly effect everyone, such as raising the minimum wage to $7.25. Other issues include a cut in student loan interest rates. The House wants to reduce the loans from the 6.8 percent we pay now to a low of 3.4 percent, and they also want to reduce the PLUS loan from 8.5 to 4.25 percent. Pelosi plans to increase the maximum Pell Grant money for students from $4,050 to $5,100. She also wants to see the House broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds, previously vetoed by Bush.

However, things are not as easy as they seem. Even though the Senate is under new leadership, it does not have a strong enough lead to have two-thirds of the votes to pass legislation, meaning bipartisanship is going to be required to pass any kind of legislation.