Word: sessions
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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This resurgence has continued under Carter, partly because of his inept handling of the first session. To an extent, says Charles Jones, a University of Pittsburgh political scientist who is an expert on Congress, "a shift of power that started because of Nixon's arrogance has continued because of Carter's artlessness." Yet probably no President, however skilled in working with Congress, could have turned back the tide. Observes Arizona Representative Morris Udall, who was one of Carter's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination: "Any President inaugurated in 1977 was going to face this giant, which had awakened after...
Because so much of this action will be dominated by the Senate, its dour and aloof majority leader, Robert Carlyle Byrd of West Virginia, 60, will become the most important power broker in Congress. The last session belonged to bluff Speaker Tip O'Neill, who worked closely with the inexperienced President and his aides, patiently teaching them how to get along with the people on Capitol Hill. O'Neill took charge of Administration measures and pushed many of them through the House, including the energy bill, which whipped through with few changes?only...
...committee chairmen, powerful Senate barons and rebellious mavericks, trying to head off trouble. He pleads with recalcitrant Senators for support, does favors to pacify them, like scheduling their pet bills, or tries to put off action on controversial legislation until antagonists compromise on their own. During last year's session, Byrd's first as majority leader, he ran the chamber with a firm and sure hand that had not been seen since the days when Lyndon Johnson was majority leader...
...degree, what many members of Byrd's Senate and the House describe as independence is not high-minded statesmanship but an old-fashioned desire to take positions that will play well in their districts. With elections coming up in November, a lot of members will be more cautious this session, particularly since there is no national consensus on many key issues. Experts forecast only a moderately productive session, with a number of important matters?among them, national health insurance and reform of the tax and welfare systems?postponed in a rush to adjourn by Oct. 1 so that legislators...
Increasingly, Byrd is taking on another role: friendly adviser to Jimmy Carter. At the beginning of the last session, Byrd was wary of the new President. The majority leader was unsure whether Carter would give him proper deference. He also resented Carter's campaign attacks on Congress. So when the President's nomination of former Kennedy Aide Theodore Sorensen as CIA director ran into trouble, Byrd sounded no warning. Says a junior Democratic Senator: "He just wanted to teach Carter a lesson." Sorensen withdrew under pressure. That lesson was followed by others, as Byrd repeatedly criticized Carter's legislative liaison...