The 100 Days Agenda

A Progressive Policy Agenda

November 29, 2006

With their votes on November 7, the American people asked for change in Washington, D.C., tired of the partisanship and paralysis that had come to mark the outgoing 109th Congress. According to exit polling, 61 percent disapproved of the job Congress was doing. Incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said that Americans desire a “new direction,” including a return to the bipartisan civility that is needed to advance a change of course. Pelosi has articulated a 100-hour agenda that provides the right start for the 110th Congress and should pass with bipartisan support. Yesterday the Center for American Progress Action Fund released its recommendations for new ideas and policies that the 110th Congress should enact before the August recess, after the first 100 hours.

• While restoring order and accountability to the day-to-day business of the Congress is essential, a sense of urgency needs to become palpable in order to meet expectations set by the midterm elections. Internal and external deadlines with committees should be set on key deliverables. Doors should be opened to include the minority party in an unprecedented fashion. And recognizing the Senate may take longer to work its will than the House, the Senate leadership can continually promote the progressive agenda issues by pushing proposals onto the floor.
  
  
• The proposals that follow are concrete policy changes that Congress could pass in those months to demonstrate that progress is at the core of a progressive philosophy. By continually moving new proposals through the legislative process, the Congress can also dominate news coverage and communicate its intention to hold equal sway with the president on the domestic and foreign policy agendas of the country.
  
  
• These policies would address aspects of the most pressing of our nation’s problems—Iraq and national security, energy security, economic policy, health care, education, and the environment. We urge and underscore the need for dialogue across the aisle in addressing these issues, and especially in developing a plan for a swift and successful conclusion to the U.S. presence in Iraq. The American people are looking for bipartisan agreement on that plan.

Click here to read the full agenda (PDF).