January 05, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are divided on the way the Democratic leaders in Congress will perform, according to a poll by Opinion Research Corporation released by CNN. 46 per cent of respondents expect a real reform to the way the legislative branch operates, while 49 per cent do not.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are divided on the way the Democratic leaders in Congress will perform, according to a poll by Opinion Research Corporation released by CNN. 46 per cent of respondents expect a real reform to the way the legislative branch operates, while 49 per cent do not.

American voters renewed the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate in November 2006. Yesterday, the Democratic Party took control of the lower house for the first time since 1994, with 233 lawmakers. A victory for the Democratic candidates for the Senate in Montana and Virginia also gave the party a majority in the upper house.

Democratic California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who became the first female speaker of the House, declared, "The election of 2006 was a call to change—not merely to change the control of Congress, but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need for a new direction than in the war in Iraq. The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end."

The Democrats have pledged to carry out specific reforms during the first 100 hours of the legislative session, including a raise to the minimum wage, adopting the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, promoting stem cell research and renewable fuels, and enacting limits on lobbying and congressional travel.

Polling Data

Do you think the Democratic leaders in Congress will bring real reform to the way Congress operates, or don't you think so?

Yes, real reform	46%
No, not real reform	49%
No opinion	6%

Source: Opinion Research Corporation / CNN
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,019 American adults, conducted from Dec. 15 to Dec. 17, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.