LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS COMMITTEE
GOP Sweeps Congress in Midterm Elections
Even
with a few important races still undecided, the Republican party won big in the
midterm elections held on Tuesday. The GOP will assume control of the U.S.
Senate in January with a majority of at least four seats, 52 to 48. Alaska’s
Senate race has
not been declared but the Republican candidate, Dan Sullivan, is leading
incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Begich. The Virginia race has
also not been officially declared, but Senator Mark Warner (D) is leading. In
Louisiana, Senator Mary Landrieu (D) faces a December 6th runoff election,
which will likely be difficult for her since in the midterm election the
Republican candidates received 55.8
percent of the vote combined. In short, Republicans might end up with
54 Senate seats. Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, has announced that
he will continue to caucus with the Democrats next Congress.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, the
Republicans increased their majority with a total of at least 243 seats, with
Republican candidates leading in several undecided races. The Republicans might
end up with as many as 250 seats in the House. This will be the largest
Republican House majority since 1928, making the chamber even more conservative
in the next Congress. In
total, there will be at least 69 new Members of Congress: 11 in the Senate
(1 Democrat and 10 Republicans) and 58 in the House (18 Democrats and 40
Republicans).
While power will shift significantly in both
chambers, leadership on both sides of the aisle will most likely remain
unchanged. Current U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is expected to be
re-elected as the Speaker of the House next Congress in January, while the
current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to become the
next Senate Majority Leader, replacing the current Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-NV)—it is presumed that Leader Reid will run for Minority Leader.
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the current House Democratic Leader, announced
that she also intends to seek re-election to her leadership post for the next
Congress.
In terms of the impact on key education and
appropriations committees, a full list prepared by the Committee for
Education Funding (CEF) is included in the expanded version of today’s
Daily Briefing. Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY), a member of the Education and
the Workforce Committee and the House lead on Elizabeth Warren’s student loan
refinancing bill, was defeated, as was Senate HELP Committee member Senator Kay
Hagan (D-NC). In Arkansas, Senator Mark Pryor (D), a member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, was defeated and two other Democratic appropriators
are in jeopardy: Senators Begich (D-AK) and Landrieu (D-LA). Also, Representative
Mike Honda (D-CA) is leading in his race but it too has not been called (the
other candidate is also a Democrat).
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) issued
a press
release after the election on his outlook for the 114th Congress, in which
he referenced his five-point
roadmap initially released on October 29. It is interesting to note
that point five is Improving
Our Education System. One of the three items listed under that point
focuses on making education more accessible and affordable: "From early
childhood education to college, the cost of education continues to rise across
the board. In July, the House passed three bipartisan bills to address the cost
of college: H.R.
3136, H.R.
4983, and H.R.
4984. The House has also passed H.R.
3393, which would make it easier for families to utilize tax credits to
save and pay for college.” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has said
that the first item on the agenda for House Republicans next year will be to
produce a budget. In an interview with Fox News, Leader McCarthy said he was
optimistic that House and Senate Republicans will work together next year to
pass the FY 2016 Budget that will give the American people more clarity as to
how the country will pay down the national debt and fund national priorities.
With the Senate in Republican hands next year, it will be easier to pass budget
resolutions using the reconciliation process that requires only a majority
vote, not a supermajority of 60 votes needed to break a Senate filibuster.
Meanwhile, at a press
conference held the day after the elections, President Obama said that he
would like to work with the Republican controlled Congress where possible next
year, but also struck a defiant tone arguing that the massive losses faced by
Democrats were less a repudiation of his policies and more a reflection of
voter frustration over the gridlock in Washington. The President said that his
goals for the remaining few months left this Congress, known as the
"lame-duck” session, will include seeking more than $6 billion in new
funding for the domestic and international Ebola response, a new authorization
for the use of military force against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL), and passing a budget.
Information
submitted by Sharon Oliver,
Chair, SASFAA Legislative Relations Committee.
