107th Congress

Though I belong to neither national US party, I most clearly identify with and vote most often for Democrats. Since the rise of Trumpism, I have been most dismayed by the Republican party. I have an unexamined feeling that the Democratic party better serves my interests than does the Republican party, but I have not looked closely at the issue. So I propose to review the legislation promoted and passed by both parties over the past 22 years. Since the 107th Congress met from 3 Jan 2001 through 3 Jan 2003, the first two years of George W Bush's first term as president, I am starting there.

By and large, the Republican party held the reins of power during the 107th: governing the presidency, the House, and mostly the Senate, though Jeffries' (VT) defection from the Republicans to Independent who caucused with Democrats gave the Democrats control of the Senate for a short time. However, the Republicans never had an overwhelming margin in either the House or the Senate. Still, most of the legislation of the 107th has a distinct Republican cast to it, and no legislation was signed into law that did not receive substantial Republican support.

So what did the 107th do? Here are some of the major bills that passed into law:

1. 07 Jun 2001: The first legislation was a tax cut, which does not surprise me. This is almost a set pattern for Republicans and required by their base. Unfortunately, at least to my mind, the Republicans follow up by not cutting spending. Bush inherited a budget surplus of $236 billion from the Clinton administration, which dropped to $128B in 2001 and then to -$158B in 2002. This is also a part of the pattern, which seems to work for a short time: tax less and spend more. It drives up the budget deficit, but most people feel richer for awhile. Of course, this tax cut came in the summer before the 9/11 attacks which traumatized the US and the Bush administration, and military costs went way up in 2002, but the Republicans would cut taxes again in 2003. I contend that taxes should have gone up to pay for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. If you give a war, you should pay for it. I don't like this legislation.
2. 18 Sep 2001: This legislation authorized the use of military force against those who attacked us on 9/11, and it was supported by Democrats and Republicans with very little dissension. I do think we had to bring to justice those who attacked us, but I'm skeptical of the open ticket that Congress punched for the Bush administration to attack most anyone anywhere. This legislation would have been very difficult for any politician to oppose, so I can understand why it passed, but I regret much that we ended up in Iraq.
3. 26 Oct 2001: The 107th passed The Patriot Act, intended to expand both domestic and foreign surveillance capabilities, to enhance interagency communications, and to increase penalties for terrorism and supported by both parties mostly, though 66 House Democrats opposed it. This law enabled indefinite detention of foreigners suspected of terrorism and domestic search and seizure without a warrant. It was challenged in court, and some of its provisions were declared unconstitutional. It was eventually allowed to sunset in 2020. I think this law was a poorly constructed response to a national trauma, and the 66 Democrats were correct to oppose it. Still, I can see why it passed. We can do foolish things in response to trauma.
4. 19 Nov 2001: Still responding to 9/11, the 107th passed a bill establishing the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) to improve airport security. Democrat Fritz Hollings (SC) sponsored the bill, and both parties supported it. I agree with improving airport security after four domestic, commercial airplanes were used as guided missiles to attack us. Implementation could have been better, but the idea was sound, I think.
5. 21 Dec 2001: The 107th passed a largely bipartisan bill imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwe in an effort to promote that country's transition to democracy and to aid its domestic economy. I really can't say if this bill had any chance of achieving its goals, but I fail to see how economic sanctions could help improve Zimbabwe's economy. Still, I suspect the bill had little to no impact on the United States. I'm indifferent here.
6. 08 Jan 2002: The 107th passed the No Child Left Behind Act to reform public education. Though it faced bipartisan opposition, it had enough bipartisan support to pass; however, in 2015, Congress overturned the act as it had come under increased bipartisan criticism. I recall that public schools in Georgia did not like the standards-based reforms that emphasized annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, and teacher qualifications, as well as significant changes in funding. I applaud the effort to reform public education, but I  don't think this was the solution.
7. 09 Mar 2002: Both parties of the 107th passed a bill modifying some tax laws mostly to benefit business, not that that is a necessarily bad thing. 
8. 27 Mar 2002: In response to unlimited amounts of political money from rich donors, including corporations, and increased spending on issue advocacy ads by corporations, most Democrats and some Republicans 107th passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known as the McCain-Feingold Act. The act restricted the use of soft money in campaign finances and the ability of corporations to finance electioneering communications, a provision overturned by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC in 2010. George Bush signed it into law. I support the intent of this Act, and I think the SC was wrong to overturn it. The amount of money put into elections by wealthy individuals and organizations strongly suggests that elections are bought by the wealthy for the benefit of the wealthy. This does not serve the interests of most people in the US.
9. 13 May 2002: Both parties of the 107th passed the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, or the 2002 Farm Bill, to address a huge range of issues with agriculture, ecology, energy, and trade. Few politicians seemed to like it for its huge subsidies and government interference, but few could vote against farmers. It was superseded in 2007. To my mind, it benefitted industrialized farming too much and the family farmer too little. I lament the rise of industrialized farming, but recognize how difficult it is to oppose cheap food for the masses.
10. 30 Jul 2002: In response to the Enron and WorldCom financial debacles, the 107th passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to change the way corporations keep and publish their financial records. It was overwhelmingly supported by both Republicans and Democrats. I support the effort to prevent corporations from cooking their books.
11. 06 Aug 2002: The Republicans with the help of a few Democrats in the 107th passed the Trade Act of 2002 giving the President the authority to negotiate trade deals with foreign countries, subject only to an up or down vote by Congress. This was supposed to streamline the deal-making process. I think this was a bad idea for two reasons: first, it transfers more power from Congress to the Presidency, and second, it reinforces the business model of a chief executive making the decisions for an organization. Government ain't business, and Congress needs to do its job in determining how the US relates to foreign states.
12. 16 Oct 2002: Republicans (96% in favor) with the help of Democrats (40% +) passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force against Iraq. I was opposed to the invasion of Iraq in 2002, and I believe the course of the war has proved me correct. 
13. 21 Oct 2002: The 107th passed the Sudan Peace Act to monitor the civil war in Sudan and to authorize the President to impose an arms embargo on Sudan if it does not make progress towards peace. I support not selling arms to those who are doing bad things with them.
14. 29 Oct 2002: Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass the Help America Vote Act, which addressed voting issues such as the ones that had beset the 2000 Presidential election. I'm for any legislation that strengthens voting rights, and I think this act helped correct some issues with registration and voting.
15. 25 Nov 2002: Republicans (95%) and some Democrats (42%) passed the Homeland Security Act in response to the 9/11 terror attacks. It created the Department of Homeland Security, a cabinet level department, to focus the federal government on terrorism. I want to prevent other terrorist attacks, but I'm not convinced that a whole new federal bureaucracy is necessary.
16. 17 Dec 2002: Under unanimous support of both Democrats and Republicans, the 107th passed the E-Government Act to promote electronic government services, creating a chief technology officer under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). I support this bill.

This Republican Congress was mostly concerned with security and war (6), improving business practices (3), and cutting taxes (1 law). The political and social laws dealt with election and voting issues (2), trade negotiations (1), e-government (1), and education accountability (1). The 9/11 attack was highly traumatic for the United States and perhaps accounts for the focus on security and war, but this seems a strong interest of conservatives at any time. Of course, conservatives are also interested in making business more efficient and profitable, to the point of changing the way the country negotiates it trade agreements, giving more power to the CEO of the US: the President. However, the Enron and WorldComm disasters encouraged Congress to strengthen businesses accounting procedures.