Incoming House chairmen are on a mission

The new set of committee overseers want to challenge the agenda of the Obama administration, such as the healthcare overhaul, and cut federal spending.

By James Oliphant,
Washington Bureau, LA Times
7:06 PM PST, January 1, 2011

Reporting from Washington

They want to repeal the healthcare overhaul, pare back financial regulations, slash federal spending and curtail the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency. In essence, they want to challenge the agenda of the Obama administration at every turn.

The new GOP chairmen of key House committees such as Appropriations, Budget, Energy and Commerce, and Oversight and Government Reform believe they have a mandate to check the size and scope of government.

But their ability to achieve legislative success will be hampered by the divided Congress — Democrats still control the Senate, albeit with a smaller majority — and the threat of a presidential veto.

The result could be gridlock, but that may be the point, said Sarah Binder, an expert on congressional relations for the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning Washington think tank.

(More here.)