Congressional Outlook '89

The new year brings with it a new President, George Bush, and a new Congress, the 101st. Congress convened on Jan. 3, certified the electoral college ballot count on Jan. 4, and then recessed until Jan. 19, the day before Bush is scheduled to be sworn into office. It is then that Congress will really get down to work and its solid Democratic majority will be looking to Bush for some specific programs to back up his stated desire for a "kinder and gentler" nation, his goal to be the "education President," and his avowal that he is an "environmentalist." It will also be watching to see how he intends to pay for these programs. Still, many obervers think that the new year will also see a new spirit of cooperation between Congress and the Administration. Budget . The first major problem the new Congress and the new President will have to deal with is an ...