Change is on the way

The 109th Congress didn’t like you. They didn’t like you very much at all. Whether it was cutting $12.7 billion from federal student-loan programs or refusing to raise the minimum wage, it is pretty clear who was No. 1 in their book. The last Congress was considered the most “do nothing” Congress since 1948. But don’t worry. They weren’t completely useless. They voted to give themselves numerous pay increases, and they cut $1.6 trillion in taxes, benefiting the richest 1 percent of Americans. And let us not forget the Iraq war that they voted for, which costs us $200 million every day.

The mistakes, corruption and greed weren’t the most disappointing qualities of our 109th Congress. What was most disappointing was the lack of action and sense of true caring for the American people. We Americans deserve to feel as if we’re cared about and that our elected officials want and intend to serve and protect us, instead of just serving themselves.

With an incompetent president and the 109th Congress mired in scandal, our nation’s options for authoritative inspiration were few. Even parents and sports figures have let us down in an age where over 50 percent of marriages end in divorce and professional sports teams are packed with criminals. It’s more important now than ever that we have strong leaders and public figures to look up to. This is where the importance of our new Congress comes into play.

By voting Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House, the 110th Congress has made the first step in the right direction. America needs more women representatives and leaders. America currently trails countries like China, North Korea and Cuba in the percentage of women in the national legislature. Women like Nancy Pelosi should be the role models for young women in our nation, not the Paris Hiltons of the world.

The Democrat-controlled 110th Congress has the ability to inspire trust once again in the American people. They’ve stated that some of their first actions will be to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and cut interest rates on government undergraduate student loans by half over the next five years, and they should be applauded for the intention alone. Let’s just hope they’ll do it. Spinning the legislative tires on issues like the legality of flag burning and gay marriage wasn’t getting us anywhere.

The passage this week of new ethics rules for Congress is good, but Congress can keep moving onward and upward. Young Americans (below 25 years of age) should have free health care, which is an idea that has garnered interest. Social Security needs to be fixed before the baby boomers retire. Congress should urge President Bush to work with them to devise a plan on how to best move forward in Iraq. The president’s current energy plan needs serious revising. There should be more tax incentives for people who invest in renewable energy sources such as solar power and hybrid vehicles. Along those same lines, America’s dependence on foreign oil must be curbed to help prevent terrorism.

Using strong bipartisan legislation, the new Congress can even help bolster the president’s approval ratings. Currently, the state producing the most wind power in the United States is Texas. That is because of gubernatorial programs started by then-Gov. Bush. Certainly, he would find it easy to support his own wind-friendly programs upon the national stage.

But whether President Bush is on board with the 110th is unimportant. Americans have cast their ballots and have made it clear they don’t approve of the president or his greedy party members. We don’t like their war and we don’t like congressional inaction. Though the 110th has good potential, there is always the chance they could muck it up. But with Nancy Pelosi as speaker, they’ve got a good chance to move America forward in the right direction. We need strong, moral leaders who will work to benefit our country. The 109th failed us in that way, and the 110th owes it to the people to make up for it.