WASHINGTON — Like many voters, Rep. Lois Capps had great expectations for what Congress might accomplish when Democrats triumphantly returned to power in the House and the Senate last January.

But by year's end, immigration reform was dead, the country was still at war in Iraq, and Congress' approval rating was even lower than that of President Bush.

Weren't the Democrats supposed to be the party that was going to set the country on a different course?

Capps hears that question often from her constituents, many of whom are frustrated by how little has actually changed in Washington over the past 12 months.

"We've certainly set out a very ambitious, bold and new direction kind of agenda," the Santa Barbara Democrat said from her office near the Capitol. "And we have moved significantly forward on many of these priority issues."

Still, the ship of state is like a cruise liner that has been plying the same waters for the past six or seven years, Capps said. And, as Democrats are discovering, a ship that big doesn't make a 180-degree turn quickly.

"Boy, it creaks and groans," Capps said. "You can't just (turn around) on a dime. And yet, you really have this intention of getting to a different place."

Democrats may not have taken the country to a different place yet, Capps said, but they have started the journey.

The war in Iraq is no longer escalating, new energy efficiency standards are in place for everything from light bulbs to automobiles, and the demand for healthcare reform has put the issue back on the agenda for next year.

One of the Democratic-led Congress' significant accomplishments, Capps said, was the passage of legislation that will make college more affordable for low-income students. The bill, which President Bush signed into law in September, cuts interest rates on student loans and makes student loan payments more manageable.

On issues of local significance, Democrats again beat back efforts to allow more offshore drilling and finally won federal approval for Ventura County's plan to tear down the Matilija Dam near Ojai.

Capps and California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer persuaded Congress to overturn a year-old federal law that critics say would have allowed deer and elk hunting to continue indefinitely on Santa Rosa Island, a national park just off the coast of Ventura County.

Capps also personally waged a campaign to pressure fashion magazines and other publications to stop accepting advertising for a new cigarette marketed to women — a crusade that brought her some national attention.

The magazines resisted, but the cigarette maker, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., announced in November that it would stop advertising its brands in newspapers or consumer magazines next year.

Focus on failures

Those achievements aside, Capps recognizes that many voters are focused on what Democrats have been unable to do during their first year back in the majority.

Immigration reform is a good example.

Plans for comprehensive reform collapsed, even though most Democrats and President Bush found themselves in agreement on the prescription for change, particularly the need for a temporary guest-worker program. The legislation was doomed, however, because of fierce resistance from Republicans in the Senate.

"It's a real tragedy that this president and the American people and the Democratic leaders of Congress agree on this comprehensive immigration policy, but the Republicans in the Senate were sandbagged by a very vocal and threatening minority," Capps said.

The odds that Congress will take up the issue again next year seem slim, given that neither party is eager to raise such a controversial topic during a presidential election.

But, Capps said, once some of the rhetoric dies down and each party settles on its presidential nominee, it's possible "that we'll see some more new initiatives to get back to what was a good healthy debate in both the Senate and the House.''

The war in Iraq is another example of Democrats being unable to force a significant change in policy.

Looking back to last year's election, "it was perhaps naive the way that we presented to the American people that we would change the direction in Iraq," Capps conceded. "The implication was that the day after the election, we would be out."

Not only were Democrats unable to force the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, but President Bush also sent more soldiers into the region and even strong-armed Congress into providing another $40 billion to fund the war without any of the restrictions that had been sought by some anti-war Democrats.

White House resistance

On the healthcare front, Congress did battle with the White House over a popular children's health insurance program. Lawmakers twice sent the president a bill to expand the program, and each time Bush vetoed the legislation.

Democrats have faced the same kind of resistance from the Bush administration on other issues, making it difficult to steer the country in a different direction, Capps said.

"We're finding ways for the Senate and the House to compromise, but the White House has been unwilling to do so," she said.

Even among Democrats, there have been some serious policy disagreements.

"Democracy is always a work in progress," Capps said. "It's not just that the Republicans won't agree with us. Even within the Democratic caucus, we have disagreements on our priorities and on how far we need to go. We set out with an ambitious agenda. Everybody supports the agenda. But how they'll support it is another question."

Regardless, "we're not going to let up until we've really made significant progress," she said.