Congress recesses amid Democratic achievementsSun Aug 5, 2007 9:00AM EDT
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After months of being flogged for
accomplishing little, Democrats who control Congress headed
into a summer recess having passed several high-profile bills
from raising the minimum wage to bolstering U.S. security and
expanding children's health care.
Their top priority -- ending the Iraq war -- remains frustratingly
unfulfilled. But the Democrats who took over in January were
able to go home early on Sunday for a monthlong break having
won more support in the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives for bringing combat troops home by early next
year, marking a significant turnaround from last year.
Democrats also will be able to batter President George W. Bush
and congressional Republicans for sticking with a war policy
that droves of Americans increasingly oppose.
And it was Bush's fellow conservatives who helped kill his top
domestic priority, immigration reform.
-snip-