Experts: Few Agreements Likely from Divided US Congress
2022-11-18
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1The 118th United States Congress will be closely divided between the Republican and Democratic Parties.
2The Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in the November 8 elections.
3Democrats added to their majority in the Senate.
4Final results of several races remain in question.
5But, those results will not change the political representation by much.
6The majorities in both houses will be small.
7Some political experts think a closely divided Congress will not be able to agree on many issues.
8The U.S. Congress has been closely divided for several years.
9VOA spoke to David King, a politics and public policy expert at Harvard University.
10When asked what the American public should expect from the new Congress, King answered: "More of the same."
11King said most of the power in Congress is controlled by a small number of people at the top.
12"The power in Congress will be held in the hands of a few leaders. Most of the members of Congress will stick very close to their party, because neither one can afford to lose a couple of key votes," he said.
13King says Congress is likely to pass only budget-related bills that pay for the most basic government operations.
14He added that members of Congress will already be acting in consideration of possible results of the 2024 presidential election.
15However, some experts are more hopeful.
16G. William Hoagland is a vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington.
17He told VOA that congressional leaders might find issues on which they can work together.
18He said, "I think it's possible that there could still be some successful legislative achievement."
19Hoagland noted immigration as one such issue.
20Republicans want increased border security.
21Democrats want a path to legal standing for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
22It might be possible, Hoagland said, for new legislation aimed at reaching both goals.
23The newly-divided Congress might make it more difficult for President Biden to get his policies made into law.
24Biden may narrow his aims as a result, Hoagland suggested.
25He said the president could center his efforts on supporting the operation of major acts already passed.
26These include the Inflation Reduction Act, with its huge investments in the fight against climate change, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
27Democrats had controlled both houses of Congress before November's elections.
28King, of Harvard University, said that Biden might look more to international issues if progress at home becomes difficult.
29In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to keep his position.
30On Wednesday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell fought off a challenge by Senator Rick Scott and was reelected to his position.
31Leadership of the House is less certain.
32Republican Kevin McCarthy won his party's nomination to be Speaker.
33However, without support of more conservative Republicans, he might not be able to win the position.
34Current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has announced that she will not seek any leadership position when the new congress takes office in January.
35All the experts VOA spoke with agreed that new and strong investigations into the Biden administration and into the president's family will take place in the House.
36Republicans have promised to look into Biden administration actions at the southern border and into the business dealings of the president's son, Hunter Biden.
37I'm Caty Weaver.
1The 118th United States Congress will be closely divided between the Republican and Democratic Parties. The Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in the November 8 elections. Democrats added to their majority in the Senate. 2Final results of several races remain in question. But, those results will not change the political representation by much. The majorities in both houses will be small. 3Some political experts think a closely divided Congress will not be able to agree on many issues. The U.S. Congress has been closely divided for several years. 4VOA spoke to David King, a politics and public policy expert at Harvard University. When asked what the American public should expect from the new Congress, King answered: "More of the same." 5King said most of the power in Congress is controlled by a small number of people at the top. 6"The power in Congress will be held in the hands of a few leaders. Most of the members of Congress will stick very close to their party, because neither one can afford to lose a couple of key votes," he said. 7King says Congress is likely to pass only budget-related bills that pay for the most basic government operations. He added that members of Congress will already be acting in consideration of possible results of the 2024 presidential election. 8However, some experts are more hopeful. G. William Hoagland is a vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. He told VOA that congressional leaders might find issues on which they can work together. 9He said, "I think it's possible that there could still be some successful legislative achievement." 10Hoagland noted immigration as one such issue. Republicans want increased border security. Democrats want a path to legal standing for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. It might be possible, Hoagland said, for new legislation aimed at reaching both goals. 11The newly-divided Congress might make it more difficult for President Biden to get his policies made into law. Biden may narrow his aims as a result, Hoagland suggested. He said the president could center his efforts on supporting the operation of major acts already passed. These include the Inflation Reduction Act, with its huge investments in the fight against climate change, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 12Democrats had controlled both houses of Congress before November's elections. 13King, of Harvard University, said that Biden might look more to international issues if progress at home becomes difficult. 14Leadership positions 15In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to keep his position. On Wednesday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell fought off a challenge by Senator Rick Scott and was reelected to his position. 16Leadership of the House is less certain. Republican Kevin McCarthy won his party's nomination to be Speaker. However, without support of more conservative Republicans, he might not be able to win the position. 17Current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has announced that she will not seek any leadership position when the new congress takes office in January. 18Investigations expected 19All the experts VOA spoke with agreed that new and strong investigations into the Biden administration and into the president's family will take place in the House. Republicans have promised to look into Biden administration actions at the southern border and into the business dealings of the president's son, Hunter Biden. 20I'm Caty Weaver. 21Rob Garver wrote this story for VOA News. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22__________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24afford to -v. to allow or permit something to happen because doing so will not bring negative results to oneself or others 25a couple -n. two in number, or sometimes an integer close to two in number 26key -adj. very important or crucial, essential 27achievement -n. completion of an important or difficult goal or task 28____________________________________________________________ 29We want to hear from you. 30We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.