Since the Democrats first did it in 1933 following the landslide election of 1932, new majorities in Congress like to hit the ground running by passing a slew of laws very quickly. This is what brought us the first wave of the New Deal, or at least the part that would later be ruled unconstitutional. The Newt Gingrich led Republicans did it with the Contract with America in 1994.
In fact Lyndon Johnson, whose success was based on the quick introduction of the legislation that would become the Great Society, was said to have noted that a president's only chance at success was in the legislation he was able to pass in the first months of his presidency.
There is no way of knowing whether the first 100 hours of the Democratic majority in Congress will have historical merit, but it seems to have been an interesting ride.
In order to distinguish themselves from the previous--relatively inactive--Congress, the Democratic leadership promised to pass a slew of bills in the first 100 working hours, which seems to have worked out to a couple weeks, though I have yet to see a chronology. The best place to get actual information about the bills themselves and the process they went through to become law is on the website of the House Clerk's Office. The first 57 roll calls are found here.
Aong the bills passed were acts raisoing the minimum wage, allowign funding for stem cell research, implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices, reductions in student loan interest rates, and energy policy. They also got around to congradulating the Grand Valley State University Lakers for winning the 2006 NCAA Division II Football National Championship.
2302 students will be interested in how these measures passed so quickly, and how muzzeling the minority was central to ensuring that this all happened in 100 hours. It is also worth notign that the Senate and the President's veto pen lie in waiting, so nothing's a done deal, though both the Senate and the President will need to have good relationships with the House to get done what they would like.
Both 2302 and 2301 should note how it's the House that is acting so quickly, not the Senate or President. Neither institution is designed to act so quickly, it is a consequence of constitutional design. The stew has come to a boil, now it will simmer in the Senate.
2301 students will also want to take note of the characteristics of the bills passed by a more liberal House. They focus on issues pertaining more to equity rather than individual freedom, and they steer clear of the "moral values" agenda of the Republicans. It might be interesting to compare the items passed by the Republicans of 1994 with those just now passed. How things change.
But now checks and balances take over. Let's see what survives.
