WASHINGTON -- Members of the all-Republican Arkansas congressional delegation predict Capitol Hill will be a busy place this year, with the Senate reviewing President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks and with both chambers working to enact the new administration's agenda.
Congress is to convene today at noon. Once they're in session, all 435 House members will take the oath of office. In the Senate, newly re-elected U.S. Sen. John Boozman and 33 others will also be sworn in.
Although Trump won't be sworn in until Jan. 20, lawmakers say they're ready to get to work.
"People are ready for change, and, by golly, we'll have that this time," said U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock.
C-SPAN, the cable and satellite television channel that broadcasts the proceedings of governmental bodies, will have plenty of proceedings to televise, lawmakers say.
"The calendar's considerably more aggressive. There's a lot more legislative days," said U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro. "We have a Republican president, so we have a greater chance of actually achieving some success legislatively."
The House plans to meet 145 days this year, up from the 111 days listed on its initial calendar for 2016.
As a result, congressmen will spend fewer days in their districts and more time tackling legislation in Washington.
"There's going to be a lot of policy that gets moved," said U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman. "We've got a lot of work to do."
The lawmaker from Hot Springs said he expects to see "tax reform [and] regulatory reform" near the top of this year's list.
Trump has promised to lower federal income tax rates and to eliminate the estate tax altogether. He's also promised to roll back many of the regulations that have been promulgated during the presidency of Barack Obama.
Those are issues many in Congress want to tackle, other lawmakers said.
"I think you'll see tax reform is an area where the executive branch and the legislative branch are trying to work together," said Hill, whose district covers much of central Arkansas.
He expects Republicans will focus on "right-sizing regulation" and will pursue legislation rolling back the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and tightening border security.
"None of those topics I brought up was a priority for the Obama administration," Hill added.
One of the top priorities will be filling the Supreme Court vacancy created by the Feb. 13 death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The seat has remained unfilled for nearly 11 months. Although Obama submitted a nominee shortly after Scalia's death, the Republican-dominated Senate refused to hold confirmation hearings.
Much of the Senate's time will be spent confirming members of Trump's administration. There are around 1,000 positions that will require Senate consent.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers said Trump and his team are "going to put America on a much different path than we've been on."
"Obama's gone. We have a new administration and a new vision for America. It's an exciting time," he said. "I think there's optimism out there that we're going to be able to pursue an agenda that's going to be really good for our economy [and] good for the common man."
All four House members were elected during Obama's presidency, so none of them have ever worked with a Republican president.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, who was elected to the House in 2012 and to the Senate in 2014, will also be serving with a Republican president for the first time.
The Dardanelle native, who was not available for comment, has stressed the importance of passing immigration legislation this year, writing in The New York Times on Friday that Trump has "a clear mandate" to curtail the number of unskilled workers who are are entering this country.
Boozman, who served in the House during the George W. Bush administration, sees momentum for change in Washington.
"I think there's a lot of excitement right now about getting things done," the senator from Rogers said.
He predicts that there'll be better communication between legislators and the White House once Trump moves in.
"I do think we're going to have a president who is very willing to be available to Congress. I think, unlike the last president, he'll be right in the middle of the discussion," Boozman said.
He envisions Trump calling lawmakers and "negotiating directly with members of Congress."
"There'll be a lot of members on the phone with this president in the next year or two," he added.
A Section on 01/03/2017