Change is coming, if slowly

For 12 years in the minority, frustrated Democrats in the House have stuffed their plans and hopes into desk drawers, literal and metaphoric.

That’s about to change. With Republicans losing control Tuesday of the House of Representatives, issues such as winding down the war in Iraq, raising the minimum wage and lowering prescription drug costs will move to the top of the agenda for the new Congress.

“I think Americans want a dramatic change in direction,” said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank). “Certainly in Iraq, with our economy, with our budget deficits, with the incivility and corruption in the Capitol -- I think they’re sending a powerful message of change.”

The pace of change, however, may be slower than many Democrats want and many Republicans fear.

Democrats are coming to power in the House with only a set of goals, not a detailed plan of action. The lack of detail was largely by design to force voters to cast ballots on what Republicans had done, not what Democrats promised to do. But that means it could be months before Democrats move beyond symbolic gestures to put their ideas into action through legislation.

“No one has wanted to get too far ahead of ourselves by working out a step-by-step plan,” said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “We won’t get down to brass tacks until after the election.”

Another reason change may not happen quickly is the calendar. Congress will convene briefly this month, but Republicans will still control the House, and that “lame duck” session will focus mostly on spending bills. The new Congress will not be sworn in until Jan. 3, and Democrats will not really begin work on their legislative agenda until the end of that month.

Still, momentum from the election is likely to put pressure on Democrats to deliver on voters’ top concerns, especially the war.

Many Democrats have called for a phased withdrawal as soon as possible, but just what they will do remains to be seen.

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), who is likely to become chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, plans to hold hearings as soon as possible on the war that will feature field commanders with different perspectives on the fighting and members of the bipartisan commission that has been considering alternative policies in Iraq.

Moreover, Skelton and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), who is expected to become chairman of the government reform committee, plan to hold oversight hearings and start investigations into contracting irregularities and other potential fraud related to the war.

The Democrats’ domestic agenda is better known. Months ago, the presumed House speaker-to-be, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), sketched out six priorities that the party would pursue under her leadership.

One is to pass tougher ethics rules for the House and to mandate a balanced budget. Another is to raise the federal minimum wage, from $5.15 to probably $7.25 an hour over a two-year period, and to halve the interest rate on government-subsided student loans.

Other priorities include expanding stem cell research, lowering drug costs by permitting Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and plugging the gaps in Medicare coverage.

Finally, Democrats plan to roll back breaks in taxes and royalties for oil companies that they say cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year. They are not expected to extend President Bush’s tax cuts, which expire in the coming years, but will instead seek some smaller tax breaks for teachers and students.

Democrats may be in charge, but that does not mean they will have a free hand. There will be limits to what they can accomplish with a closely divided Senate and a Republican in the White House. Senate Republicans can use the filibuster -- which requires 60 votes to overcome -- to kill bills passed by a Democratic-run House. And Bush has the power to veto bills.

In addition, the narrow margin of control in the House means the leadership will need the votes of more conservative Democrats, who might oppose abortion or support the war in Iraq, to pass legislation.

“If we’re going to do anything in the next two years, we’re going to have to do it on a bipartisan basis,” said Thomas Kahn, Democratic staff director on the House Budget Committee. “We won’t have a big majority, and the president still has a veto.”

One of the promises the Democrats have made is to put an end to the high-handed treatment they say they received under GOP rule.

Indeed, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have been careful in recent days to insist that their members take a “no retribution” posture.

In a private conference call with Democrats on Monday, Pelosi said the party’s tone would be one of civility, integrity and bipartisanship.

“The message that the voters are sending is that they’re extremely frustrated,” said Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena).

“They don’t want a rubber stamp for the executive branch, and they don’t want someone who brings a partisan agenda and excludes the other side of the aisle from dealing with the issues.”

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maura.reynolds@latimes.com

richard.simon@latimes.com