Texas Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry thinks the U.S. Congress should just work part-time. Considering what it has accomplished so far this year, you might think it already does.
Seemingly spending most of its time bickering about before finally voting to raise the limit on the national debt just ahead of a government shutdown, Congress slogged its way through one of its most unproductive non-election year sessions in recent memory.
The latest Resume of Congressional Activity shows that from Jan. 5 through Nov. 30, 2011, the House of Representatives passed only 326 of the 4,191 bills introduced, the lowest number of bills passed in the last 10 non-election years. The Senate had its least productive year since 1995, passing only 368 of 2,336 bills introduced. "Bills" includes all forms of legislation, including bills, simple resolutions, joint resolutions and concurrent resolutions.
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As a comparison, in previous two most recent the non-election years of 2007 and 2009, the House passed 1,127 and 970 bills respectively. The Senate passed 621 bills in 2007 and 478 bills in 2009.
Congress didn't exactly wear out President Obama's bill signing hand either. Of the 6,527 bills introduced in the House and Senate combined, only 62 managed to make it through the legislative process to become laws. In 1995, the last time Republicans controlled the House, but Democrats held the White House, President Bill Clinton signed 88 bills into law.
Just Sail Away: Oh, by the way. Of those 62 bills that actually became laws, 13 of them (21%) simply named or renamed federally owned buildings like courthouses and post offices. And then, there was the momentous bill H.R.3321 - the America's Cup Act of 2011 (Public Law No: 112-61) - which facilitates the hosting of the 34th America's Cup yacht race in the United States. Ahoy!
While both the House and Senate will probably pass more legislation before the current session ends later this month, you get the idea.
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Comments
To say the least! Government leadership is sorely needed right now. There is so much they could do to create jobs, job training for those long-term unemployed, many of whom are 55+, and clear away the foreclosure pipeline that is hanging over the housing market. Instead, they bicker over the debt ceiling — which is not really a high priority for a country that prints its own money.
The highest priority right now is to get this country working again. Fiscal stimulus does work because it creates the confidence needed to get businesses and families to invest in the future.
Kimberly
Your’s is a point of view where real inteillegnce shines through.