Democrats boast of record at helm of House

Story Highlights

• House Democrats say their record in first 100 days outdoes GOP congresses
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi points to 24 bills passed, 189 recorded votes
• Three of those bills have passed Senate; none has become law
• Democrats say they've done their part, blame GOP for slowing Senate action

From Andrea Koppel
CNN Washington Bureau

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In January, regaining power after 12 years in the political wilderness, House Democrats vowed to change the work ethic of lawmakers and make good on ambitious promises they had touted in the midterm campaign.

As they head into a two-week Easter break and approach 100 days in power, Democratic leaders are tooting their own horn about a record that, in the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, "leaves Republican congresses in the dust."

"We're proud of our record. We're proud to report it to the American people," Pelosi, D-California, told reporters Wednesday. "But we've only just begun."

Democratic leaders point to increased productivity in the House of Representatives -- more than twice as many recorded votes (189) as Republicans held in recent years when they were in the majority; almost twice as many days in session (48); and more than double the number of bills passed (24).

Those bills include measures to implement some of the outstanding recommendations of the 9/11 commission; impose new lobbying and ethics rules on lawmakers; cut interest rates on student loans; remove restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research; roll back subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies; and allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices for senior citizens.

However, Senate Democrats have only succeeded in pushing through three of these measures in slightly different versions, and none of them has become law.

Congressional observers say that's par for the course, given the different rules under which the Senate and House operate.

"The House, the way it's organized, the leadership can push through legislation very quickly. The Senate is a much more deliberative body," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report. "It was set up to stop things, to slow things down, and that's what the Senate is doing now."

When pressed about touting as achievements bills that have not passed, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, insisted Democrats had met their responsibility -- and suggested Republicans should stop gumming up the legislative machinery over on the Senate side of the Capitol.

"It is clear the American public supports what we've done and wants the Senate to follow suit," Hoyer said.