RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
The Senate will begin confirmation hearings next Monday for John Roberts to succeed William Rehnquist as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was initially nominated to fill the seat vacated by the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. After William Rehnquist's death over the weekend, President Bush renominated John Roberts to serve as the nation's 17th chief justice. NPR congressional correspondent David Welna joins me now.
Good morning.
DAVID WELNA reporting:
Hi, Renee.
MONTAGNE: What are senators saying about the timing and also the content of the John Roberts' confirmation hearings?
WELNA: Well, the judiciary committee's chairman, Senator Arlen Specter, says the fact that the Roberts confirmation hearings are starting six days later than had been anticipated should not have any effect on plans to wrap up those hearings by the end of next week, but Specter also said he'll keep holding those hearings until the last senator has spoken and he can't be sure just when that might be.
Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist said he intends to have the full Senate vote on Roberts no later than Friday, September 30th, so that there will be a full court when the justices begin a new term October 3rd. But the committee's top Democrat, Patrick Leahy, said Democrats have made no commitment to when such a vote might be held, and as for the content of the hearings, the senators indicated that they did not expect them to differ much now that Roberts is up for chief justice.
MONTAGNE: And Congress returns today to face an agenda and an atmosphere transformed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Until late last week, the Senate had scheduled a vote to--which was slated to vote on the permanent repeal of the estate tax and that's not on, is it, for the moment?
WELNA: No, it's not on for now and it's not clear how soon we might see it come up again. It's a change in tax policy that would benefit only the wealthiest of the wealthy in this country, and it would also deprive the US Treasury of nearly $300 billion over the next decade, and I think Republican leaders realize they're taking up such a piece of legislation that's very much for the haves might have appeared a bit insensitive to the enormous needs of the have-nots who are the victims of Hurricane Katrina. And it would also worsen federal deficits at a time when it's clear the federal government is going to have to spend much more than the $10 1/2 billion that Congress approved late last week for relief efforts along the Gulf Coast.
MONTAGNE: Well, is the postponement of this vote on the estate tax an example of how much impact Katrina is going to have on Congress this fall?
WELNA: I think it is. It's likely going to make it politically much more tricky for Republicans who'd intended to cut nearly $40 billion in mandatory spending from the federal budget, and that included cutting $10 billion from spending next year on Medicaid, which many poor flood victims may depend on now more than ever. And Republicans had also planned to pass another $70 billion in tax cuts that benefit investors and that may be a tougher sell this fall. The ruling party is likely going to feel the need to try to show sensitivity to the plight of Katrina's victims and Democrats who are emboldened by criticism of the Bush administration's relief efforts are likely going to argue that much more needs to be done by Congress for the nation's most vulnerable, including raising the minimum wage.
MONTAGNE: Well, Congress does have a job of overseeing the federal government, as well as making the laws and holding the nation's purse strings. What's Congress likely to do about all the complaints on the response to Katrina?
WELNA: Well, the Senate's Homeland Security Committee is beginning its own probe into the failings of the federal relief efforts in hearings that begin tomorrow. Another Senate panel dealing with health, education and labor holds a similar hearing on Thursday amidst demands from congressional Democrats that FEMA once again be made an independent agency, rather than be part of Homeland Security.
You know, I think the president, with his lowest approval ratings of his presidency and widespread disenchantment over Iraq, is going to find that a lot of lawmakers from his own party who face re-election battles next year may be trying to distance themselves from the White House now. And they're also feeling a lot of pressure from constituents to do something about soaring gas prices and hearings on that begin in the Senate in just a few hours.
MONTAGNE: NPR's congressional correspondent David Welna at the Capitol. Thanks, David.
WELNA: You're welcome, Renee.
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