Democrats' To-do List Is Modest At Outset

WASHINGTON — When Democrats take power on Capitol Hill this week, House leaders will kick off their legislative campaign with a lightning-fast 100-hour agenda.

But there won't be a revolution.

In marked contrast to the Republicans who swept into the majority in 1994, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her legislative allies are not planning to amend the Constitution or eradicate federal agencies.

Instead, their initial legislative foray will focus on modest, politically popular issues, including initiatives to expand stem cell research, lower prescription drug prices and tighten congressional ethics rules.

Pelosi's program is expected to receive a warm reception on Capitol Hill, even from some Republicans. Less clear is whether Democrats can follow up with solutions to the deeper problems that are troubling a restive public.

Polls show that most Americans are looking to Congress, rather than the president, for leadership, particularly on resolving the war in Iraq.

Yet Pelosi and the Democrats plan no dramatic steps to influence the course of the war. Nor has the new majority detailed strategies to tackle other challenges that have confounded lawmakers for years, including rising healthcare costs and the financially imperiled Social Security system.

For now, the relatively safe 100-hour agenda may simply allow the Democrats to show they can accomplish something after a dozen years in the political wilderness.

"One of the things the public is definitely looking for is results," said veteran strategist Peter Fenn, who helped several Democratic candidates unseat Republicans in part by campaigning against the "do-nothing" record of the previous GOP-led Congress.

"You just have to look at Arnold Schwarzenegger to get an idea of how important that is," Fenn said, noting how California's recently reelected Republican governor salvaged his political fortunes by reaching across the aisle to rack up a series of substantive policy accomplishments.

But finding a majority on Capitol Hill to agree on even small measures can be challenging.

Democrats will hold just a one-vote advantage in the Senate, where rules allow the minority party to stall, slow and amend legislation.

At the same time, ideological divisions between the parties are wider than they were a generation ago, when moderates in both caucuses wielded greater influence.