After sweeping to victory in both houses of Congress in last week's midterm elections, Democrats face the challenge of answering the question: Now what? What will the party do with its hard-earned majorities?

"For us, this win is a great victory not just for the party, but for the American people," said Amaya Smith, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee. "But it's not time for us to rest on our laurels. It's clear the American people want change and we need to get to work on that."

Just a day after their victory, incoming Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi unveiled her "Six for '06" plan, which calls for "Real security — at home and overseas." The six-point plan pledges to "reclaim American leadership with a tough, smart plan to transform failed Bush administration policies in Iraq, the Middle East and around the world."

The most pressing goal of the agenda — which Pelosi hopes to enact within the first 100 hours of Democratic control — is a push to begin a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of this year.

Other elements include:

» Doubling the number of U.S. Special Forces hunting for Osama bin Laden and terrorist networks, and implementing the 9/11 Commission's proposal for securing America's borders and ports; » Putting a hold on Congressional pay raises until the national minimum wage is raised, and ending tax giveaways that reward companies for moving American jobs overseas; » Making college tuition permanently tax-deductible, cutting student loan interest rates and expanding Pell Grants; » Lowering foreign oil dependence and creating a cleaner environment by sponsoring initiatives for energy-efficient technologies and domestic alternatives like biofuels, as well as enacting tough laws to stop price-gouging at the gas pump; » Promoting stem-cell research; and » Ending plans to privatize Social Security.

In a press briefing last week, incoming Senate Majority Leader Henry Reid said he's committed to working in a bipartisan fashion with President Bush and his Republican colleagues, saying he's asked Bush to "very quickly" convene a bipartisan summit of congressional leaders to discuss Iraq. "We need to move on and do a better job," he said. "Have the Iraqis take over their own country, as legislated here last year. The law of the land today says that the year 2006 is going to be [a] year of significant transition in Iraq. So that's what the summit's going to be all about."

Even before they take power in January, Democratic leaders said on Sunday that one of their first moves will be to press for troop reductions in Iraq within a few months, according to The New York Times. Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the phased redeployment needs to happen within four to six months, adding, "the point of this is to signal to the Iraqis that the open-ended commitment is over and that they are going to have to solve their own problems."

Democrats are also expected to try and pass a comprehensive immigration bill and to roll back Bush's vaunted tax cuts, which he is trying to make permanent, but which some experts have blamed for contributing to record budget deficits.

Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for Representative Pelosi, said that despite a slim margin in the Senate — Democrats have 51 seats (including the two independent senators who have said they'll be caucusing with the Democrats), with 60 needed to pass legislation — the agenda should have no trouble passing. "These are non-controversial centrist, populist proposals," Hammill said. "These are things in the House and Senate that there is consensus on in the Democratic caucus and we think it will attract some Republican moderates."

Despite their calls for bipartisan cooperation, the sailing could get rough for Bush and Republicans. Missouri Democratic Representative Ike Skelton told the Los Angeles Times that one of his first acts as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee will be to bring back a subcommittee disbanded by Republicans after they won control of Congress in 1994 and use it as a forum to probe Pentagon spending and the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war. Democrats could also launch investigations into the Bush administration's controversial warrantless wiretapping program; a review of billions of dollars in no-bid contracts for rebuilding Iraq; and environmental policies that have opened up many pristine wilderness areas to logging, mining and oil drilling.

One thing Hammill said Pelosi has taken off the table, despite calls for it from some in the party, is an investigation into possible grounds for impeaching Bush. The reason for this is because the party is looking to capitalize on this year's wins and keep riding that wave into the 2008 elections, without upsetting the voters who helped it achieve this year's slim victories.

However, that doesn't mean the president won't hear some tough questions. "If we had one thorough hearing, that would be more oversight than the entire last Congress," Hammill said.