By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Democrats poised to take full control of the US Congress next year are aiming for a fast start in the opening weeks of January, with what they say will be a response to voters' top concerns in the aftermath of the party's huge wins on November 3.
In statements and interviews, prominent Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate, told Reuters their initial forays could address voter frustration over the Iran war, high consumer prices, and affordable
healthcare.
They also plan to address what they see as widespread disgust over ethics breaches and corruption, which are thought to have contributed to the rejection of Republicans across the United States.
"I can confidently say that we want to do a congressional stock trading ban," Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii told Reuters on Thursday when asked what might be his top three legislative moves in early January.
Voters have expressed outrage for years over stock trading by lawmakers. Many argue such trading is improper given members of Congress shape legislation, often behind closed doors, in actions that could affect prices of stocks and bonds.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become the next House speaker, told reporters of his early goals in 2027.
"We have to make sure that we're cleaning up the mess here in the Congress with the executive branch and at the Supreme Court and that should begin by prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks," he said, including it in a long list of legislative musts.
Schatz, who is in line to become the No. 2 Democrat in the new Congress that begins the first week of January, said the party's caucus was still working on reaching a consensus with Democrats in the House over the order of business.
BIPARTISAN HOPES
They are hoping to get some Republican backing on their bills, something voters have said they long for.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said in an interview that he supports bipartisan initiatives, including raising the federal minimum wage, reversing his party's rural hospital cuts and banning stock trading. "Absolutely. It's my bill that's currently pending" in the Senate, he said of the stock trading ban.
He and progressive Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have a bill targeting pharmacy benefit managers acting as middlemen in the drug supply chain. Critics say the managers have too much influence over prescription drug prices.
Schatz argued the stock trading ban resonated with voters who "directly connected corrupt actions of government officials with them (consumers) paying more."
Besides the stock trading ban, Schatz rattled off two other initiatives: ending the Iran war and reversing Republican cuts to Medicaid, the federally backed healthcare program for the poor and disabled.
"How exactly we reverse the Medicaid cuts, that's yet to be settled on in terms of our techniques and our tactics," Schatz said.
DEMOCRATIC MAJORITIES
Democrats are projected to hold at least 255 seats to Republicans' 169 in the House, with 12 contests still undecided. In the Senate, the breakdown will be at least 55-44, with Democrats possibly gaining one more seat in Alaska when vote-counting is completed.
Most legislation in the Senate needs the backing of at least a 60-vote supermajority to advance toward passage.
That would mean luring at least four Republicans, potentially those currently holding seats in Alaska, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, for example, where the incumbents are all up for re-election in 2028.
At the same time, Democrats will have to move carefully to craft those bills to protect some of their incumbents who face re-election in 2028, including those holding Senate seats from Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio and Nevada.
That is where the legislative tensions could emerge. It is easy for lawmakers to say they have some support from the opposition on measures they want to advance. It is harder to maintain that support once the bills are written.
Within the Democratic Party, there also are tensions between moderate Democrats and progressives.
If Democrats are unable to score bipartisan victories, they might have to resort to a procedural tactic Republicans successfully used to win tax cuts that mainly benefited the wealthy, coupled with social program reductions.
The procedure sidesteps the need for the 60-vote majority in the Senate. Instead, they could pass bills with a simple 51-vote majority.
For Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who is up for re-election in 2028, his top three bills would be ending the Iran war, killing tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and bringing back healthcare subsidies that Republicans let expire.
"I start there as a way of stopping the bleeding and then we can lay out a vision going forward," he said in a hallway interview.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Kate Mayberry)
