Senate Dems focus ire on House GOP

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The Hill:



Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and other Democrats blasted the new majority in the House on a range of issues.
Senate Democrats on Friday took aim at the Republican majority on the other side of the Capitol, blasting the GOP on a range of issues.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, hit Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), her counterpart in the House over his stated intention to weaken the Environmental Protection Agency.

Boxer also voiced her discontent over a change in House rules enacted on Wednesday that will allow federal money normally allotted to building roads to be used for other purposes.

Boxer’s criticism was notable in that she did not invoke the name of any members of the Senate and instead just hammered at Upton, the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Other Senate Democrats, including Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y), Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (Ill.), and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) also held a joint press conference earlier in the day to chide House Republicans for “already spending millions more than they want to cut.”

The criticism from Senate Democrats suggests concern about the new GOP majority, and reflects the changing power in Washington.