Yesterday I talked about what the agenda for Congress would most likely be. Today I wanted to add a few more issues that many voters and members of Congress believe should also be part of the congressional agenda. For example, a number of newly elected Senators ran against the Environmental Protection Agency rules. Newly elected West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito said her state’s economy is already suffering from new EPA rules on coal. This led to the loss of 5,000 jobs. She wants to “roll back” these rules. Senator Mitch McConnell said he feels “deeply responsible” to stop the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. He will no doubt get lots of help from Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe who will be the new chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Many newly elected members of Congress want immigration reform that is based on true border security. Newly elected Colorado Senator Cory Gardner wants a secure border before Congress begins any serious discussion of immigration reform. Most Republican members of Congress and many Democrat members should also support making border security a top priority. The big question is what Congress will do about the Affordable Care Act. Texas Senator Ted Cruz wants a bill that calls for a “complete and total repeal of Obamacare.” He understands that the president will veto it. So he then proposes that Congress work to take out the most “onerous” parts of Obamacare. That will be a problem. Most members of Congress will probably be willing eliminate the medical device tax which was supposed to be a funding mechanism for Obamacare. After that, it is hard to see how many other elements of Obamacare would not be blocked by a Democrat filibuster in the Senate. Now that Congress is in session, we all need to let our elected representatives know what we want them to do. We the people need to help set the agenda for this Congress. http://ncfr.net/ncfr.net/subdomains/commentary/Downloads/Kerby_Anderson/01-06-2015.mp3