If current polls and predictions hold true, the Democratic Party, rotten to the core as it is with conservative Blue Dogs and Democratic Leadership Council weenies, will win a substantial majority in both the House and the Senate. The progressive left, however, does not appear to have created the necessary institutional policy groundwork and thinktank apparatus to compete with the GOP, and as such has more of a reactionary legislative stance after eight years of Bush. Be that as it may, they will have to legislate on a number of issues, and here is a list I would like to submit they consider. Many of these issues may already be covered by existing law, though not enforced by the Bush administration. Many may be considered radical and partisan. But after thirty years of Republican rule, it's no time for bipartisanship. Please feel free to add your own legislative agendas in the comments section; I may add some of my own.

Finance

Repeal the Bankruptcy Act of 2005.

A credit card company’s unilateral amendment of the terms of agreement should constitute breach of contract.

Credit card companies should not be able to arbitrarily raise interest rates, and maximum rates should be capped at Fed Funds plus a reasonable amount. At a time when the Fed charges 1% and credit card companies charge longtime customers with no history or prospect of default and sterling bill paying histories, credit card companies should not be able to charge 25%.

Institute a law that in no instance can a corporation enjoy more legal rights, protections, or tax advantages than any individual, and that penalties and sentences for criminal acts or nonadherence to regulations undertaken by, or on behalf of, a corporation shall be borne personally by its executive officers and boards of directors.

Public ownership of private financial institutions should require those institutions to divulge their holdings to the public.

Private institutions receiving public capital infusions cannot lobby the government, as it would be an instance of the government lobbying itself.

Institutions that receive public capital infusions and subsequently fail to lend shall be placed into receivership, as they no longer function as lending institutions and are for all intents and purposes insolvent.

Regulate Credit Default Swaps as insurance instruments with attendant reserve requirements, limit their use to only those who hold the securities thus insured, and limit their size to the direct amount of securities held. Or eliminate them altogether.

Civil Rights

Rescind suspension of Habeas Corpus.

As voting is a civil right, any act of challenging a legitimate voter without sufficient evidence, or preventing them from voting on an election day, constitutes a felony punishable by a minimum sentence of five years’ incarceration and a $10,000 fine for each instance.

Institute public financing of campaigns, and limit political contributions to $200 per person.

Privacy and Identity Theft

Companies that create information clearinghouses about individuals shall register the names of said individuals into a public record; those records will be accessible to the individuals free of charge, and they can legally compel the company to purge all records pertaining to them, and permanently opt out of future information gathering.

Workers’ Rights

Underfunding of pension plans by corporate management at any level shall constitute fraud and/or embezzlement.

Trade

Impose an export tariff on pharmaceuticals sold to industrialized nations that is equal to the difference between the Medicare drug plan price, and the foreign governments’ negotiated purchase price. Alternatively, or additionally, allow Medicare to negotiate the price seniors pay for pharmaceuticals.

Law

Presidential signing statements are not law, have no legal standing, and failure to enforce or abide by legislation constitutes an impeachable offence.