Hare vows a quick start
BY ANDREW WALTERS
SVN REPORTER
awalters@svnmail.com
After more than 20 years of working for retiring Rep. Lane Evans, Phil Hare took over for his mentor on Thursday when he was sworn into office as the U.S. Representative of the 17th District of Illinois.
"It's a pretty awesome feeling," Hare said afterward, sitting behind his congressional desk for the first time since he took the oath of office.
Following the ceremony, Hare pledged to work within the spirit of the American dream and the legacy that Evans paved before him.
"I believe in the promise of the American Dream - that people who work hard and play by the rules should have the opportunity to achieve their God-given potential," Hare said.
Hare, 57, of Rock Island, defeated Republican challenger Andrea Zinga in the Nov. 7 election. It was a short honeymoon for the newly elected congressman who found himself on the floor voting Thursday afternoon.
The 110th Congress is the first to be controlled by Democrats in 13 years, and is the first ever to elect a woman speaker of the house.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was elected on a party-line vote of 233-202, replacing Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Plano.
Hare proclaimed the new majority a mandate from the people.
"For six years, the federal government has put the special interests ahead of the common good and embraced an agenda that benefits only the privileged few. With the election of a Democratic majority, the American people said, 'enough,'" Hare said.
He went on to promise his support for middle-class working Americans who have felt an increasing pinch on their dollar in recent years. Hare pledged he will vote to raise the minimum wage, require Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs and cut student loan interest rates in half, all within his first 100 hours in office if the Democrats follow through on their promise to bring those issues to a vote.
He has been assigned to the House Education and Labor Committee, and he still hopes to be assigned to the Veterans' Affairs Committee, on which Evans had served. Hare was in the Army Reserve from 1969 to 1975.
"When I decided to run for Congress, I made a promise, to spend every single day being a voice for average, hard-working Illinoisans. That is exactly what I plan to do," Hare said.
Right out of the gate, Hare said he intends to be more visible than his predecessor, who was slowed in recent years by Parkinson's disease. Hare said he intends to make visiting all corners of the district a regular part of his job.
"I want people to know I am very approachable. I know you will see a lot of me (in the district). I will have staff there and will do office hours there," he said.
Copley News Service contributed to this report.
