WASHINGTON -- Congressional Republicans launched their new era yesterday, adopting a House rule that will make it harder to raise federal income tax rates.
The 279-152 vote, mainly along party lines, came after sharp debate in a long day that quickly brought partisan bickering as the GOP began acting on the campaign pledges that helped bring it to power.A key plank in the GOP "Contract with America," the proposal to require a three-fifths vote, instead of a simple majority, to raise income tax rates was backed by the 73-member Republican freshman class. "People work hard for their money," said Rep. Randy Tate, a new Republican from Washington. "It ought to be hard for Congress to take it away from them."
But Democrats warned that the rule change is unconstitutional and is potentially dangerous because it doesn't lessen the pressure on Congress to spend money.
"This makes it easier to run up the bills than it is to pay for them," said Rep. Andrew Jacobs Jr., a veteran Democrat from Indiana and member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.
The House worked into the early morning today to complete its first-day agenda, most of the items winning approval by overwhelming bipartisan margins. Those included votes to cut committee staffs by one-third, to conduct a Republican-led audit of House financial records kept by Democrats for decades, and to limit the term of the speaker to eight years and those of committee chairmen to six years.
The final measure acted upon was legislation to make Congress obey anti-discrimination and other laws it imposes on private businesses. It cleared on a vote of 429-0, almost 14 hours after the House convened.
"Democracy's hard. It's frustrating," said newly elected House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia in a wide-ranging opening address in which he vowed to stick to his party's campaign promises, while promising to listen to all members.
Greeted by chants of "Newt, Newt, Newt, Newt" from jubilant GOP lawmakers, the speaker added: "We were hired to do a job. We have to start today to do it."
Hundreds of visitors who jammed the Capitol for swearing-in ceremonies were treated to an unusually lively opening day on which Republicans in both chambers formally laid out their legislative agendas for the 104th Congress.
Though House Republicans have committed themselves to an ambitious 10-point blueprint that requires them to vote on contentious measures in the next 100 days, Mr. Gingrich said the party has two "giant challenges": balancing the federal budget by the year 2002 and replacing the current "welfare state with an opportunity society."
Republican Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, who reclaimed the post of majority leader he last held in the mid-1980s, described his mandate as "reining in" the federal government by curtailing its size, cost and its impact on private citizens through burdensome regulation.
"America has reconnected us with their hopes for a nation made more free by demanding a government that is more limited," Mr. Dole said at a ceremonial Senate opening session that he conceded was much less emotionally charged than that on the House side.
After 34 senators, including 10 freshmen, were sworn-in by Vice President Al Gore, Mr. Dole called a brief recess so his colleagues could watch the doings in the House, where Republicans formally ended 40 years of Democratic control.
While Republicans were ramming through their opening-day agenda in the House, the Democratic minority complained that GOP promises of a more open process were "phony." As Democratic leaders did in the past, the Republican leadership conducted yesterday's debate under rules that prohibited amendments.
"As I look at this reform package, I have to say it's reform lite," said Rep. Patricia Schroeder, a Colorado Democrat. "And the Republicans are choking off debate."
House members spent hours in procedural wrangling before planning to take up several high-profile rule changes, including one that would require the House and Senate to abide by the same laws that apply to private industry.
The measure, "The Congressional Accountability Act," passed the House late last night, 249-178.
Democrats made an issue of tighter ethics provisions that would ban gifts of travel and meals from lobbyists, measures which the GOP killed with a filibuster last year.
House Democrats also protested that they were not allowed to offer a change in the rules that would restrict the amount of book royalties lawmakers can receive, a clear shot at the $4.5 million advance Mr. Gingrich turned down under pressure from Democrats and some of his GOP colleagues last week.
"I think it is truly a very, very inappropriate strategy on their part, to be negative and narrowly partisan," said Mr. Gingrich shortly before he became the first Republican to preside over the House since the Eisenhower years. "They didn't get any message out of this election about trying to get things done up here." House Democratic leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri turned over to Mr. Gingrich an oversized gavel handmade by a Georgia constituent -- officially ending Democratic control of the chamber and prompting whoops of joy from the GOP side.
The new minority leader put the best face on what he conceded was a painful task for him. "We may not all agree with today's change of the guard, we may not all like it, but we accept the people's will with dignity," he said. "This is a day to celebrate a power that belongs not to any political party, but to the people."
In balloting for the speaker's post, Mr. Gingrich defeated Mr. Gephardt, 228-202. The tally did not quite match the party breakdown in the House of 230 Republicans to 204 Democrats because the two leaders did not vote, one Republican was absent and two Mississippi Democrats, Gene Taylor and Mike Parker, voted "present" rather than back Mr. Gephardt.
In the Senate, new Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle of South Dakota said the Democrats hope to be productive in their new role.
"We're getting beyond denial," he joked. "We're now actually beginning to adjust to life in the minority."
But Mr. Dole complained that the Democrats blocked a vote yesterday that would have cut Senate committee budgets by $34 million.
Senate Democrats also are delaying action on a measure, similar to one the House approved last night, that would impose on Congress the same laws that apply to the rest of the country.
Democratic Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and Paul Wellstone of Minnesota plan to offer an amendment to that bill today that would add the gift ban provisions, which Mr. Dole has vowed to fight.
Neither Republicans nor Democrats seemed overly affected by the opening day skirmishing. Many said the changes at issue were mostly small and symbolic, and only a prelude to what lies ahead.
Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the quarreling reminded him of the last Congress, which broke down in partisan deadlock. "It feels like this is just where we left off," Mr. Frank observed.
But the Republicans brushed aside such talk.
"This is just the first step in keeping our contract with the American people," said Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, a Republican from Western Maryland. "If we can't do this, how are the American people going to believe anything we say?"