Six months into the Republican majority, a closer look at the GOP’s “Pledge to America” and its election-season promises shows the new majority has lived up to the agenda: The GOP passed a bill to repeal health care reform; it extended the Bush-era tax rates; it has been posting bills three days ahead of votes, as promised; and it has banned earmarks. House Republicans have also cut federal spending — though not nearly as much as promised — and they’ve cut their own congressional budgets. They also voted to end further federal funding for abortion.
Speaker John Boehner’s majority has fallen short on a few fronts: Republicans haven’t always allowed the open debate in the House that they extolled, they haven’t yet replaced the health care law with a new plan — or even proposed one — and they will likely miss a self-imposed goal to pass appropriations bills before the August recess. Their promised oversight of the Obama administration remains a work in progress.
For now, Republicans can live with this batting average. It’s been only six months.
