Macomb County's two lawmakers joined in a rare show of bipartisanship Thursday as jubilant Democrats took control on the first day of Congress and Nancy Pelosi ascended as the nation's first female speaker of the House.

The new Democratic majority in the House vowed to hammer through their legislative agenda in the first 100 hours of session, without entertaining any Republican amendments, but that partisan approach was greeted with acceptance by U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican.

"I'm surprised but not shocked. I will tell you this: No whining. Let's get to work," said Miller, who was closely associated with the old GOP leadership. "I'm telling you very sincerely that I have a very open mind to all these proposals the Democrats are advancing here. In November, the voters sent a very clear message that they want us to work together."

Miller's Macomb counterpart, Democratic Rep. Sander Levin, hailed the changing of the guard of the 110th Congress and an early agenda calling for quick approval of six Democratic bills. 

Those measures would: raise the minimum wage, lower prescription drug prices, reduce interest rates on student loans, boost funding for stem cell research, eliminate tax breaks for oil companies, and adopt the remaining recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

"I think all six make a lot of sense. They relate to a lot of different issues and each of them has a very important significance," said Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat who represents most of Macomb County.

Miller said she is a staunch supporter of raising the minimum wage and is eager to see federal negotiations to lower drug prices for Medicare recipients, if they do not limit the types of drugs available to seniors.

Levin, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the Democrats will impose a "pay as you go" system designed to reduce the deficit without raising taxes. Any increase in spending must be accompanied by a means of paying for the hike.

"What we've seen is the Republican majority approving spending bills without any consideration of the cost or how to pay for it. Pay as you go means fiscal responsibility," said Levin, who will take over the chairmanship of the House subcommittee that oversees trade issues.

Though Miller stands as an ideological opposite to Pelosi, she called the San Francisco Democrat's ascension to the speaker's chair a "historic milestone." Miller, who broke a few glass ceilings as the first female Harrison Township supervisor, Macomb County treasurer and Michigan secretary of state, said future generations of women will benefit from Pelosi shattering the so-called "marble ceiling" in the House. 

Miller predicted bipartisan scrutiny of the war in Iraq during the 2007-08 session of Congress, particularly of the Iraqi government's inability to "stand up" and provide security and stability. A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Miller said she is "very hesitant" to support the surge of 20,000 to 40,000 troops into Baghdad that President Bush is reportedly considering.

Numerous congressional hearings, Levin said, will put the heat on the Bush administration if the president proposes "more of the same" in Iraq. 

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