As political power shifts to Democrats on Capitol Hill, the grades are in for the outgoing 109th U.S. Congress, and, according to the NAACP, lawmakers failed miserably.

The NAACP uses one word to describe the performance of members of the U.S. Congress in addressing fundamental civil rights issues in the last two years: Unacceptable.

"This report confirms that there is a lack of alignment between the priorities of the communities the NAACP was founded to serve and the majority of the members of Congress," NAACP President Bruce S. Gordon said in a statement.

"While we celebrated some hard-earned victories," Gordon said, "more often than not, policy makers failed to address issues that continue to burden our communities."

In its final Legislative Report Card on the 109th Congress, the NAACP found only slight improvement in the voting record among members of both chambers. The majority of U.S. senators (54 out of 100) and representatives (225 out of 435) voted in support of the NAACP's position less than 59 percent of the time, receiving a grade of "F" from the NAACP.

"While we are disappointed, we are also determined," Gordon said. "We will continue to hold our association accountable for engaging our senators and representatives, advocating on behalf of our people and relentlessly pursuing our mission until we succeed."

As the party takes control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 12 years, Democrats say they are ushering in a new political era with the 110th Congress, fully prepared to lead.

"I’m proud to be a part of the first 100 hours in the new Democratic Congress," Hank Johnson, elected to Georgia's Fourth Congressional District last fall, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. Johnson claimed the seat of Cynthia McKinney, whom he defeated in a runoff last year.

"We’re taking the House back from the lobbyists and giving the House back to the people," Johnson said.

Elected by a vote of 233-202, the chamber's Democratic-Republican breakdown, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) became the first woman to run the House of Representatives.

House Democrats planned quick action on legislative priorities that included boosting both the minimum wage and stem cell research. Democrats also said they would pressure President Bush to bring the troops home from Iraq.

Pelosi, taking over as speaker of the house, promised immediate steps to ban gifts from lobbyists and to clamp down on travel funded by private interests. Democrats also plan to vote this week to raise the federal minimum wage, increase federal support for stem cell research and allow the government to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices on prescription drugs for Medicare recipients.

Craig Kirby, an advisor to former Virginia governor Mark Warner, said Democrats must seize the moment.

"I would say one of the key words is opportunity," Kirby told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Will this Congress have the wits about them to understand the opportunity they have been given? Then, will they take the opportunity to make the necessary changes, just as the American people did in November '06?"

Peter C. Groff, executive director of the Center for African American Policy at the University of Denver and publisher of Blackpolicy.org, said there is a great deal at stake and Democrats could experience some challenges in the early stages.

"Obviously, the first difference between this Congress and the last Congress is that Democrats have 233 seats in the House, and right now, 50.5 in the Senate, considering Sen. Tim Johnson is fairly incapacitated due to medical issues," Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Therefore, the priorities change in such a way that we presume will make an earth-shifting difference in 2007.

"Conventional wisdom also presumes a Democratic agenda translates into something beneficial for African-Americans," he said. "However, we have to take into account one problematic variable: the 2008 elections."

Groff criticized Democrats for pushing the now-minority Republicans aside in their rush to pass certain legislation.

"At this stage, Democrats are doing a great disservice to their message and their electoral victory by excluding Republicans from the first 100 hour legislative push," he added. "Two wrongs don’t make a right. You can’t spend an entire campaign crying foul over draconian GOP rule then turn around and implement the same thing. That will ultimately translate into bad politics since it violates a premier campaign promise to change the tone on the Hill."

Also this week, the Congressional Black Caucus will work on crafting its annual Legislative Agenda, which is expected to be sent to Congress and the White House at the end of January.

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI) said in a statement that the Caucus’ agenda will include an ongoing dialogue with black Americans and serve as the "Conscience of Congress" to help uplift the poor and disenfranchised.

Kilpatrick told BlackAmericaWeb.com the Caucus will be leading the fight to help low-imcome black Americans and especially those who are still struggling in New Orleans nearly 18 months after Katrina.

"I congratulate Carolyn and each member of the Caucus' new leadership team," Rep. Melvin L. Watt (D-NC), CBC's immediate past chair, said in a statement. "Each will bring a tremendous energy and dedication to the Caucus and no doubt will continue to lead the work of the CBC in reaching the goals of the founding members -- closing disparities that persist between African Americans and other Americans."

Meanwhile, since 1914, according to the NAACP website, the NAACP Legislative Report Card has presented a summation of key civil rights votes taken in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. It is designed to provide NAACP members with insight into the voting patterns of their congressional representatives.

"The latest legislative report card shows how members voted on 28 key votes in the Senate [out of a total of 645 recorded votes in the entire 109th Congress] and 36 priority votes in the House of Representatives [out of a total of 1,214 cast in the entire 109th Congress]," NAACP Washington Bureau Director Hilary O. Shelton said in a statement.

"Votes on topics like the minimum wage, health care, budget issues, education, gun control, voting rights, low income energy assistance, community development, criminal justice and trade are included in the assessment. Legislation that did not progress beyond the committee level is not included in the assessment," he said.

According to the NAACP, 36 senators voted with the NAACP 90 to 100 percent of the time receiving an "A" grade, while 16 received a "B" grade for voting with the NAACP 80-89 percent of the time. Three senators received a "C" and one a "D." There are 14 Senators that rarely vote with the association. The average score of all the senators was 49 percent, up 2 percent from the mid-term average.

In the House, the NAACP said, 176 representatives voted in support of the NAACP's position 90 to 100 percent of the time receiving an "A" grade. Forty-one representatives earned Bs from the NAACP while 15 received Cs. Eleven received Ds. The average score in the House was 58 percent, also up 2 percent from the mid-term average.

Congressional aides said the historic power shift in Congress will benefit black Americans in the months ahead.

"The NAACP is heartened to see that each of the incoming chairs of committees for the 110th Congress in both the Senate and House, earned an A grade, while each of the outgoing chairs from the 109th Congress received an F," Shelton said. "If this is an indication of things to come in the 110th Congress, we have much to look forward to."

But Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com there is also the potential for political infighting.

"There will now be two big headlines which will create future electoral headaches for both House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV): Democrats pass landmark legislation, but Republicans aren’t included," Groff said. "In addition, an obstinate President Bush has no reason to sign legislation if it had no Republican buy-in. The potential for more gridlock and partisan sniping is very real."

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Associated Press contributed to this story.