Democrats' aggressive agenda stalls in Senate (Rick Klein)

  GOP thwarting a range of bills

  By Rick Klein -- Boston Globe

  Feb. 1, 2007 -- WASHINGTON -- The aggressive agenda that Democrats pushed through with great fanfare in the House has become bogged down in the Senate, where Republicans have used various stalling strategies to thwart Democratic momentum on issues ranging from healthcare and homeland security to a resolution opposing President Bush's troop "surge."

  None of the bills approved in the first 100 legislative hours in the House of Representatives last month has passed the Senate. The only one close to passing -- an increase in the minimum wage -- has consumed more than a week of floor time, and Republicans succeeded in attaching a series of small-business tax breaks favored by the White House.

  On the Iraq war, Senate Republicans have so far blocked Democrats from offering a resolution that would express Congress' s disapproval with Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq.

Republican leaders are pressuring GOP senators who have expressed misgivings about the troop escalation to nonetheless vote against a resolution, contending that non binding statements would be motivated by politics and could harm troops' morale.

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