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With No Substative Work, Democrats Invent It

2:22 PM, Apr 15, 2008 • By BRIAN FAUGHNAN
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Roll Call reports:

The House agenda appears thin even for an election year, and majority Democrats are in no hurry to send bills to die in the Senate or to provide targets for Republican sniping.

Democrats are counting on picking up seats this year, and observers say they plan to run on the strength of their accomplishments in 2007. ..

Of late, House Democrats - back in the majority after a 12-year hiatus - have begun taking bills that would normally be considered under suspension and putting them through the rules process to have something to debate on the floor.

The suspension calendar is reserved for non-controversial bills, which are expected to pass by better than a two-thirds majority. And if you look at the list of recent House votes, there's not much there apart from post offices and federal buildings -- what else is new.

Democrats are banking on a fall victory that gives them control of the White House, and of Congress by a wider margin. Democratic strategists say that will allow them to pursue a more 'ambitious' agenda next year. For the time being, their strategy is to avoid difficult legislation, and hope that a combination of a fundraising advantage and a popular nominee allows them to overcome their dismal approval rating.

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