John Boehner’s do-nothing Congress

[_Kissy_]

In case you didn’t know, Congress is in recess. They’ve given themselves a five-week break. Unanimously. This week they voted “without objection” not to come back to Washington until Sept. 10.

I don’t blame you if you hadn’t noticed. Because there’s little difference between when Congress is in session and when Congress is not. Either way, they never get anything done. And don’t expect Congress to get anything accomplished when they reconvene, either. As Congressman Gerry Connolly told my audience on Current TV, there’s the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar, the Islamic calendar, the Hebrew calendar — and the Congressional calendar.

On its own calendar, Congress set aside a total of 109 working days for year 2012. Between now and November 6, it has scheduled exactly eight workdays in September and only five days in October. What the rest of us wouldn’t give for a schedule like that! It’s almost enough to make you want to run for Congress.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Congress actually got things done when they were in session. Except they don’t. Consider some of the most pressing issues facing the nation: climate change, immigration reform, tax reform, gun control, campaign reform. Congress has not only failed to resolve those issues, it hasn’t even considered them.

Forget the far-sighted stuff. Congress couldn’t even bring itself to act on what, in the past, has always been routine — and bipartisan. Take the Farm Bill. Used to be apple pie. No longer. On June 21, the Senate, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 64 to 35, passed a $1 trillion farm bill containing price supports and crop insurance for farmers, as well as food assistance to low-income families. House Republicans rejected the measure because it didn’t slash food stamps enough. Instead, they passed a very narrow emergency relief package for some farmers suffering from today’s disastrous drought, which the Senate in turn rejected. Then, rather than sit down and resolve their differences, both the Senate and House packed up and went home — leaving America’s farmers, literally, high and dry.

Even where Congress did manage to act, usually at the 11th-plus hour, it fell short of what was needed. The highway bill was another area where, in happier times, members of both parties routinely came together to approve plans stretching out five years. Who could possibly be against building new roads and bridges? As we discovered this year: tea party Republicans, that’s who! House leaders could barely round up enough votes to join the Senate in approving a modest two-year plan, barely enough time to plan and build most highways.

Same with student loans. Even though legislators knew for months that the interest rate on student loans would double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1, absent congressional action, they waited until June 29 to agree to extend the lower interest rate — and then for one year only — which means we’ll be in the same soup again next spring, when Congress should be tackling other important issues.

But nowhere has Congress performed worse than in its failure to deal with the debt and deficit. The Senate voted to extend tax cuts for the middle class, those making up to $250,000 a year. House Republicans shot it down, because it did not also include tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Meanwhile, the specter of sequestration — disastrous $1.2 trillion cuts to Pentagon spending and domestic programs — hangs over us on January 1. But, once again, Congress has refused to deal with it. They’d rather go to the beach.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Nancy Pelosi proved that. Under her leadership, the 111th Congress enacted universal health care, ended the practice of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, passed a $787 billion jobs bill, laid forth new regulations on Wall Street, and helped women get equal pay for equal work. The Senate also ratified a new nuclear arms treaty. Historian Alan Brinkley rated it “probably the most productive session of Congress since at least the ’60s.”

Unfortunately, John Boehner has produced just the opposite: not one piece of significant legislation — unless you count voting to repeal Obamacare. Thirty-three times! As Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper laments: “America’s problems have rarely looked so large, and Congress has rarely looked so small.”

No wonder Congress has only a 17 percent approval rating. Considering their miserable performance, the only question is: Why is it still so high?

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - John Boehner’s do nothing Congress 

[Carpy]

Congress is heading into the final stretch of its summer work period having passed none of its annual spending bills. What's more, with the start of the next budget year some 70 days away, a tit-for-tat between the Democrat-controlled Senate and the GOP-run House means it's unlikely that any of the bills will reach the president's desk for his signature.

So with Capitol Hill calcified with partisan gridlock, lawmakers are gearing up for an all-too-familiar annual routine: kicking their appropriating responsibilities down the road by passing temporary, stopgap funding bills to avoid a government shutdown at the start of the next fiscal year Oct. 1.

A central duty of Congress is to appropriate money for the federal government to stay open, an annual process that is supposed to be handled through 12 major spending bills. By law, all such appropriations measures must originate in the House before moving on to the Senate. On Thursday, the House passed a 2013 spending plan for the Pentagon — the seventh appropriations bill to clear the lower chamber this year.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, has refused to take up any of the House's spending bills before the November elections, saying they include more cuts than Congress agreed to as part of last summer's hotly contested compromise to raise the federal debt limit.

The debt deal called for discretionary spending to be capped at $1.047 trillion in 2013. Democrats view the number as a spending target, while Republicans say they are free — and morally obligated — to spend less.

"Until the Republicans get real, we can't do [spending bills], because [House Republicans] have refused to adhere to the law that guides this country," Mr. Reid said earlier this month.

Republicans say Mr. Reid is going back on his word because he said earlier this year that he would work to bring spending bills to the Senate floor for a vote. Because the Senate can ignore the House's spending blueprints and draft its own versions, as is common, Republicans say, Mr. Reid's argument about spending limits is irrelevant.

"There is no excuse whatsoever for not bringing up appropriations bills on the floor of the Senate," Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, said during a floor speech Wednesday. "The reasons [Mr. Reid] gives are very puzzling."

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers called Mr. Reid's refusal to take up House-passed spending bills "absurd" and accused the Senate Democratic leadership team of "defaulting on their most basic fiscal duty."

"The 12 annual appropriations bills cannot be swept under the rug and ignored until a more convenient political time," the Kentucky Republican said.

Only twice since 2000 have both chambers passed all 12 appropriations bills in time for the start of the fiscal year, choosing instead to pass a series of stopgap measures that generally keep funding at the same levels, though some tweaks do occur. Congress didn't pass any of its individual spending bills on time the past two years.

Relying on stopgap funding measures instead of individual appropriations bills delays needed action to lower the federal deficit and deal with long-term debt issues, said Darrell M. West, a political specialist with the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning Washington think tank.

"The problem with government by [stopgap measures] is it maintains the status quo, and the challenge today is, we need to make changes," Mr. West said. "Just continuing to roll over the old budget into the new fiscal year doesn't allow us to address the problems that everybody recognizes."

Through much of Congress' history, passing and sending all dozen measures to the president for his signature was a practice that was expected and typically followed. But with the legislative branch and White House increasingly split between the two parties the past two decades, bitter political wrangling has led Congress to routinely fall short of its appropriations duties.

"Since the 1980s, we've been in divided government more often than we've had united governments, so it's not unusual that this circumstance has occurred," said Don Ritchie, the Senate's official historian. "It's generally easier to get things done when one party controls both houses [of Congress] and the White House."

Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee is moving forward with its own versions of spending bills, so far approving nine. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii Democrat, has said he remains hopeful that at least some spending bills will clear the full Senate before the deadline at the end of September.

But without Mr. Reid's consent, the bills are doomed to congressional limbo, and with the fiscal year winding down and Congress set to begin its monthlong summer break in early August, time is running out for the Senate to pass even a token number of spending bills.

"Not taking up the [appropriations] resolutions is not a good way to run a government," Mr. West said.

© Copyright 2012 The Washington Times, LLC.

[Carpy]

Bills Passed by the House of Representatives that Have Not Been Considered by the Democrat-Controlled Senate

The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act (H.R. 872), which would halt duplicative federal regulations on farmers and small business owners that are impeding job creation.

The Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910), which would stop the federal bureaucracy from imposing a job-destroying national energy tax.

The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R. 2018), which would restrict the federal government’s ability to second-guess or delay a state’s permitting and water quality certification decisions under the Clean Water Act once the EPA has already approved a state’s program, preventing approval process delays that cost jobs and leave businesses hampered by uncertainty.

The Consumer Financial Protection & Soundness Improvement Act (H.R. 1315), which would increase consumer protection and government accountability by eliminating the ability of Dodd-Frank’s unelected Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director to unilaterally carry out regulations that hurt job growth.

The Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act (H.R. 1230), which would help to address high gas prices and support the creation of new American jobs by increasing offshore energy production.

The Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act (H.R. 1229) and the Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act (H.R. 1231), which would help to put thousands of Americans back to work by ending the de facto moratorium on American energy production in the Gulf of Mexico in a safe, responsible and transparent manner by setting firm timelines for considering permits to drill.

The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011 (H.R. 2021), which would streamline the permit process for American energy production to help lower prices and create tens of thousands of new jobs.

The North American-Made Energy Security Act (H.R. 1938), which would require the federal government to make a determination by a date certain on whether or not it will allow the Keystone XL pipeline expansion, which is projected to directly create 20,000 jobs and support the creation of thousands more, to move forward.

A Budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (H.Con.Res. 34). With Washington’s failure to control spending hurting job creation in America, the House has passed its budget, while the Senate has not yet considered a budget of its own.

   

[nanaofsix531]

The whole country knew they were going to do nothing so this was not a surprise.

[pvtjokerus]

To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 11 Dock Street in Pittston, Pennsylvania, as the "Trooper Joshua D. Miller Post Office Building". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/5/2012
112-125	H.R. 3220	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 170 Evergreen Square SW in Pine City, Minnesota, as the "Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder Post Office". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/5/2012
112-126	H.R. 3413	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1449 West Avenue in Bronx, New York, as the "Private Isaac T. Cortes Post Office". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/5/2012
112-127	H.R. 4119	"Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2012" To reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent human smuggling across the Southwest Border by deterring the construction and use of border tunnels. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-418, Part 1. Legislation summary.	6/5/2012
112-128	H.R. 4849	"Sequoia and King Canyon National Parks Backcountry Access Act" To direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue commercial use authorizations to commercial stock operators for operations in designated wilderness within the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and for other purposes. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/5/2012
112-129	H.R. 2947	To provide for the release of the reversionary interest held by the United States in certain land conveyed by the United States in 1950 for the establishment of an airport in Cook County, Minnesota. CRS summary. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to release, without consideration, specified conditions (including the reversionary interest retained by the United States) on the use of certain land conveyed to the state of Minnesota for the establishment of an airport in Cook County, Minnesota. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-441. Legislation summary.	6/8/2012
112-130	H.R. 3992	To allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United States nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-410. Legislation summary.	6/8/2012
112-131	H.R. 4097	"John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act of 2012" To amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to authorize appropriations for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and for other purposes. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-457. Legislation summary.	6/8/2012
112-132	S. 3261	A bill to allow the Chief of the Forest Service to award certain contracts for large air tankers. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/13/2012
112-133	S. 292	"Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act" A bill to resolve the claims of the Bering Straits Native Corporation and the State of Alaska to land adjacent to Salmon Lake in the State of Alaska and to provide for the conveyance to the Bering Straits Native Corporation of certain other public land in partial satisfaction of the land entitlement of the Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. CRS summary. Ratifies the Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement, which was executed between the United States, the state of Alaska, and the Bering Straits Native Corporation on July 18, 2007. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Senate Report 112-52. House Report 112-428. Legislation summary.	6/15/2012
112-134	S. 363	A bill to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to convey property of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the City of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and for other purposes. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Senate Report 112-133. House Report 112-502. Legislation summary.	6/15/2012
112-135	H.R. 5883	To make a technical correction in Public Law 112-108. CRS summary. Amends P.L. 112-108 to change the street number of the post office designated as the "Specialist Micheal E. Phillips Post Office" from 115 4th Avenue Southwest to 208 1st Avenue Southwest in Ardmore, Oklahoma. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/21/2012
112-136	H.R. 5890	To correct a technical error in Public Law 112-122. CRS summary. Makes a technical correction to P.L. 112-122 (Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012). No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/21/2012
112-137	S. 404	A bill to modify a land grant patent issued by the Secretary of the Interior. CRS summary. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to modify a land grant patent issued to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, Chippewa County, Michigan. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Senate Report 112-56. House Report 112-433. Legislation summary.	6/27/2012
112-138	S. 684	A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land to the town of Alta, Utah. CRS summary. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the town of Alta, Utah, all interest of the United States in and to parcels of National Forest System land in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Salt Lake County, Utah. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Senate Report 112-61. House Report 112-434. Legislation summary.	6/27/2012
112-139	S. 997	"East Bench Irrigation District Water Contract Extension Act" A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend a water contract between the United States and the East Bench Irrigation District. CRS summary. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to extend a contract for water services between the United States and the East Bench Irrigation District for four years. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Senate Report 112-65. House Report 112-527. Legislation summary.	6/27/2012
112-140	H.R. 6064	"Temporary Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012" To provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund pending enactment of a multiyear law reauthorizing such programs. CRS summary. Continues through July 6, 2012, the following: - Federal-Aid Highway Programs - Extension of Highway Safety Programs - Public Transportation Programs - Highway Trust Fund Also, authorizes the Secretary of Education to delay the origination and disbursement of Direct Stafford loans to undergraduate students until enactment of MAP-21. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	6/29/2012
112-141	H.R. 4348	"Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act" An act to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes. Includes:"America Fast Forward Financing Innovation Act of 2012"; "Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012"; "COASTAL Act of 2012"; "Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2012"; "Consumer Option for an Alternative System to Allocate Losses Act of 2012"; "Federal Public Transportation Act of 2012"; "Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2012"; "Highway Investment, Job Creation, and Economic Growth Act of 2012"; "Mariah's Act"; "Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Improvement Act of 2012"; "Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2012"; "Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012"; "Safe Roads Act of 2012"; "Sport Fish Restoration and Recreational Boating Safety Act of 2012"; "Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II"; "Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Act of 2012" CRS summary. Title I: Surface Transportation Extension - Subtitle A: Federal-Aid Highways - Subtitle B: Extension of Highway Safety Programs - Subtitle C: Public Transportation Programs - Subtitle D: Highway Trust Fund Extension Title II: Keystone XL Pipeline - North American Energy Access Act Title III: Restore Act - Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 Title IV: Harbor Maintenance Programs Title V: Coal Combustion Residuals Title: VI: Environmental Streamlining Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Conference Report 112-557. Legislation summary.	7/6/2012
112-142	H.R. 33	"Church Plan Investment Clarification Act" To amend the Securities Act of 1933 to specify when certain securities issued in connection with church plans are treated as exempted securities for purposes of that Act. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-131. Legislation summary.	7/9/2012
112-143	H.R. 2297	To promote the development of the Southwest waterfront in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-154. Legislation summary.	7/9/2012
112-144	S. 3187	"Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act" A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise and extend the user-fee programs for prescription drugs and medical devices, to establish user-fee programs for generic drugs and biosimilars, and for other purposes. Includes: "Biosimilar User Fee Act of 2012"; "Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012"; "Medical Device User Fee Amendments of 2012"; "Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012"; "Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012" CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	7/9/2012
112-145	H.R. 3902	"District of Columbia Special Election Reform Act" To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to revise the timing of special elections for local office in the District of Columbia. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Senate Report 112-186. Legislation summary.	7/18/2012
112-146	S. 2061	"Former Charleston Naval Base Land Exchange Act of 2012" A bill to provide for an exchange of land between the Department of Homeland Security and the South Carolina State Ports Authority. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	7/18/2012
112-147	H.R. 4155	"Veteran Skills to Jobs Act" To direct the head of each Federal department and agency to treat relevant military training as sufficient to satisfy training or certification requirements for Federal licenses. CRS summary. Directs the head of each federal licensing authority to consider, and authorizes such official to accept, any relevant training received by an individual while serving as a member of the Armed Forces for the purpose of satisfying the license requirements. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-585. Legislation summary.	7/

Quoting nanaofsix531:

The whole country knew they were going to do nothing so this was not a surprise.

[pvtjokerus]

To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 8 West Silver Street in Westfield, Massachusetts, as the "William T. Trant Post Office Building". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/15/2012
112-115	H.R. 3004	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 260 California Drive in Yountville, California, as the "Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz Post Office Building". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/15/2012
112-116	H.R. 3246	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 15455 Manchester Road in Ballwin, Missouri, as the "Specialist Peter J. Navarro Post Office Building". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/15/2012
112-117	H.R. 3247	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1100 Town and Country Commons in Chesterfield, Missouri, as the "Lance Corporal Matthew P. Pathenos Post Office Building". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/15/2012
112-118	H.R. 3248	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 112 South 5th Street in Saint Charles, Missouri, as the "Lance Corporal Drew W. Weaver Post Office Building". CRS summary. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/15/2012
112-119	S. 1302	A bill to authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Tracy, California, to the City of Tracy. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Senate Report 112-40. Legislation summary.	5/15/2012
112-120	H.R. 4045	To modify the Department of Defense Program Guidance relating to the award of Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence administrative absence days to members of the reserve components to exempt any member whose qualified mobilization commenced before October 1, 2011, and continued on or after that date, from the changes to the program guidance that took effect on that date. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/25/2012
112-121	H.R. 4967	"Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2012" To prevent the termination of the temporary office of bankruptcy judges in certain judicial districts. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/25/2012
112-122	H.R. 2072	"Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012" To reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and for other purposes. CRS summary. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. House Report 112-201. Legislation summary.	5/30/2012
112-123	H.R. 5740	"National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act" To extend the National Flood Insurance Program, and for other purposes. CRS summary. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA) to extend the National Flood Insurance Program, including its funding, through July 31, 2012. Increases by 25% each year the chargeable risk premium rate for flood insurance for residential property which is not the primary residence of an individual until the average risk premium rate for such property is equal to the average of the risk premium rates for any properties within any single risk classification. Additional summary at CRS summary link above. No CBO Estimate. Legislation summary.	5/31/2012

[pvtjokerus]

And the above is only half way thru May....this is not including the rest of May or April, March, Feb, Jan.....

[itsmesteph11]

 So what if they waited. They always get something done. The US has never defaulted and the public has never suffered(aside from media induced stress).  No, it's not acceptable for congress to do nothing but what isn't said here is this is not Boehner's congress.  Boehner is the leader of the house. The part of congress that has passed over 30 bills trying to help get America back on track, trying to get people back to work.  Harry Reid is the leader of the Senate that makes up another part of congress. The part that will not even LOOK at the Republican bills that have been sent over for consideration.

I think the author is a bit mixed up with their title.  The things mentioned here have obviously done nothing to better America or get people back to work.  Even so the comparisons are not valid since Nancy is not the Senate leader.   What has Harry Passed?