Share
The Grand Old Party won't be running the nation's capital any time soon, but its Charlotte-area members are staying optimistic about it.
“It's going to be a challenge being a Republican in Washington,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from Cherryville.
“My constituents want conservative change, but they also still want to see their children educated and roads built and the economy improved. And so that doesn't have to be a partisan issue. We can still work together.”
Charlotte is tilting more Democratic this year now that Sen. Kay Hagan and Rep. Larry Kissell of Biscoe have joined the state delegation. Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte was the only N.C. Democrat in the area last year.
With Democrats running the Congress and the White House, they tend to have more influence over which bills get considered and passed, and how they're written.
But the area's GOP lawmakers – McHenry, Rep. Sue Myrick of Charlotte and Sen. Richard Burr – say they can still be effective leaders this session.
“I always work across the aisle,” said Myrick, who knows several of President-elect Obama's appointees. “To me, this is a time we have got so many serious challenges on the plate that partisanship needs to go aside and we need to be Americans.”
Burr said being the minority party this year “in some ways is easier.”
They aren't setting the agenda in the Senate, he said, but Republicans still have enough numbers that the Democratic majority has to play ball with them.
Burr said he likes that the freedom of not having party policies dictated by priorities of a GOP-occupied White House.
“My life's not cluttered by what the administration wants,” he said. “I'm focused on the policy side, which for me is a wonderful thing.”
First bills reflect 4 N.C. lawmakers' top priorities
At the start of every two-year session of Congress, bills have to be reintroduced by lawmakers, even senators who serve six-year terms.
Some use their first bill introduction of the year to make a statement about their top priority.
Here's a sampling of what the N.C. delegation proposed their first week of the 111th Congress:
Preventing the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the fairness doctrine, which monitored the airwaves to make sure the discourse wasn't too one-sided, by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.
Providing federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, by Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Democrat from Lumberton.
Making it easier for homeowners with subprime loans to refinance if they're in jeopardy of losing their homes, by Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat from Raleigh.
Renaming the Department of Navy as the Department of Navy and Marine Corps, by Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican from Farmville.
Foxx fine with 300 badge; wonder if she bowls?
Rep. Virginia Foxx spent some time wondering where she'd rank in seniority when she entered her third term in Congress.
She got her answer when she picked up this year's congressional pin, which lawmakers wear on their lapel every day for easy identification as being part of that exclusive club of 435. Embedded on the back of it was the number 300.
The Banner Elk Republican had thought she might have been 299th, but she was OK with 300. “I like even numbers,” said Foxx, whose district includes Iredell County.
Burr high on Obama's choice for VA secretary
Don't expect any trouble from Burr over Obama's nominee to be secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Burr, ranking Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, indicated he has plenty of confidence in Obama's choice, Gen. Eric Shinseki.
Shinseki, who clashed with the Bush administration on Iraq war strategy, was nudged out as Army chief of staff in 2003. He had testified to Congress that the U.S. needed more troops in Iraq than Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld believed.
Congressional newcomers stick together
Like many fraternities, members of Congress start out sticking with their pledge class.
That was certainly true of Larry Kissell, a freshman from Biscoe. During his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday, Kissell, who was a high school civics teacher, hung out with fellow first-term Reps. Gerald Connolly of Virginia and Betsy Markey of Colorado, both Democrats.
“We got together so we could rely on each other for help,” Kissell joked afterward.
