INSIGHT: US Congress has its work cut out for it

The US Congress returns to work this week after a month-long year-end hiatus, facing a number of Taiwan-related bills that were introduced last year but never made it past the initial legislative stages.

And, if last year was a guide, those measures will not likely get much further this year.

Last year, the first session of the two-year 110th Congress, was a particularly fallow one for Taiwan. The House of Representatives approved three bills of importance to Taiwan, but the Senate rejected all three. They dealt with high-level visits to Washington by top Taiwan officials, the US sale of advanced F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan and an effort to scrap State Department guidelines that severely limit contacts between US and Taiwan officials.

While all could be reintroduced again this year, they would have to begin the legislative process again at the starting gate.

As in 2006, Taiwan last year fell victim to increased divisions and partisanship in Congress that focused attention on a series of intractable issues like growing anger and opposition to the war in Iraq. These prolonged congressional debates ate up legislative time and diverted consideration of other issues like Taiwan. In addition, the Senate -- never a center of aggressive legislative action -- was less prone than normal to act on any but the most core issues.

The session was the first in a decade with both houses of Congress under Democratic control, and that fact gave hope to some Taiwan supporters early in the year who wanted more congressional activism than under the Republicans.

Their was that with the administration of US President George W. Bush taking a sharp turn away from its earlier strong support of Taiwan in recent years, and without Republican majorities refusing to buck presidential opposition to several pro-Taiwan legislative actions, the Democrats would be more willing to ignore administration opposition and pass Taiwan bills.

Although the new Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Lantos, is a strong supporter of Taiwan and did push through his committee the three bills that the House eventually endorsed, his record was no better than his Republican predecessor, the late Henry Hyde, who was an equally ardent backer of Taiwan's interests but was loathe to buck a Republican president.

The Congressional Taiwan Caucus, made up of 157 House members, was active last year and hosted well-attended Capitol Hill receptions for visiting Taiwan dignitaries. Key members introduced several pieces of legislation, wrote letters to administration officials and others demanding better treatment for Taiwan, asked administration officials pointed questions during congressional committee hearings and otherwise promoted Taiwan causes.

The 26-member Senate Taiwan Caucus, however, was moribund, as it had been throughout its four-year history. It wasn't until October, in the waning days of the first session, that its leaders introduced their first Taiwan bill of the 110th Congress, a companion to a House bill to allow top-level Taiwan officials to visit Washington. Caucus co-chairmen Tim Johnson and Trent Lott, joined by four others, introduced the bill at a time when any legislation was clearly still-born in the first session.

The Senate caucus was cursed by leadership problems all year.

Johnson, a Democrat, was hobbled most of the year as he fought and recovered from a brain hemorrhage he suffered the previous December. Sherrod Brown, a former House member and co-chair of the House Taiwan caucus who was elected to the Senate in 2006, was expected to become a Senate caucus co-chair, but he declined.

Lott over as the Republican co-chair last January, replacing George Allen, who lost his 2006 re-election after making remarks many considered racist. As co-chair, Lott, a firm supporter of Taiwan who was once Senate Majority Leader, was what some Taiwan supporters felt to be a disappointment as caucus leader, and late last year he quit the Senate to join the Washington lobbyist community.

James Inhofe of Oklahoma is expected to replace Lott as Republican co-chair of the caucus. Inhofe was a co-sponsor of the October high-level visits bill.

Still in Congress as the session begins are bills to establish normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, allow Taiwan to participate in the Olympics under the name of its choosing, require full Senate hearing and approval of people chosen to head the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), urge the administration to negotiate a free trade agreement with Taiwan and demonstrate support for Taiwan's democracy by encouraging international delegations to observe Taiwan's presidential elections in March.

Congress compete work on one Taiwan-related issue last year: It approved a US$16.4 million operating budget for AIT this year, the same amount as last year.