I’ll never forget a Washington Post editorial from October 1994, which chastised the 104th Congress, which was still at the time under Democratic control, for not doing anything. It’s not available online anymore, but the Post’s editorial board told readers:
This will go into the record books as perhaps the worst Congress — least effective, most destructive, nastiest — in 50 years.
The Dem-led 104th Congress, the “least effective…in 50 years” one, passed the largest deficit-reduction package in U.S. history, a landmark crime bill that included the Brady Bill, a landmark education bill that rebuilt and expanded the college student loan program, NAFTA, and AmeriCoprs. Whether you supported these initiatives or not, it seems odd that anyone would consider a record with so many significant accomplishments “the worst Congress” in a half-century.
With this point in mind, however, how exactly should one describe the 108th Congress?
As if it weren’t bad enough that Congress doesn’t mind having been lied to about Medicare and has looked the other way while the White House misused funds appropriated for the war on terror, now the House has decided it really doesn’t have to do much of anything for the rest of the year.
The week of April 26 was eventful and troubling for the nation, yet curiously brief and serene for the House of Representatives. Thirty-five U.S. servicemen were killed in Iraq. CBS aired shocking photos of Americans abusing prisoners near Baghdad. The federal debt reached an all-time high, more than $7.13 trillion.
In the House, meanwhile, members returned to Washington on Tuesday of that week for three quick, unanimous votes at nightfall. They renamed a post office in Rhode Island, honored the founder of the Lions Clubs, and supported “the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month.”
The next day, Wednesday, was a bit busier. After naming a Miami courthouse for a dead judge, House members debated how to extend the popular repeal of the tax code’s “marriage penalty.” The only real issue was whether to pass the Democratic or Republican version. The GOP plan prevailed, 323 to 95.
After two days and one night of desultory activity — roughly their average workweek this year — House members packed up and rushed home to their districts. Despite the burgeoning scandal over U.S. treatment of Iraqi prisoners and persistent concerns about the economy and the deficit, the House has been keeping bankers’ hours.
In the good ol’ days, lawmakers used to take some pride in their role in the process, while presidents have tried to peel some of that authority away. This Congress has turned the model on its ear — voluntarily ceding power to the White House while welcoming a lesser role.
I know I’ve quoted this before, but Robert Kaiser’s point in a recent Washington Post article still rings true:
[T]he fact that the House (and, not quite as starkly this winter, the Senate) can sit passively by in the midst of war, the prospect of record-setting budget and trade deficits and countless other national dilemmas is a symptom of a momentous change in the status of the legislative branch, whose powers were considered so important that the writers of the Constitution enumerated them in Article I, leaving the presidency and judiciary for Articles II and III.
In fundamental ways that have gone largely unrecognized, Congress has become less vigilant, less proud and protective of its own prerogatives, and less important to the conduct of American government than at any time in decades. “Congress has abdicated much of its responsibility,” Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel said in a recent conversation. “It could become an adjunct to the executive branch.”
Not all lawmakers are happy about it. Unfortunately, they’re nearly all Dems so they lack the power to force changes.
“Given all the issues and problems the country faces, it’s scandalous that we’re only coming in to work three days a week, and even then most of the time we’re renaming post offices,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). “This is a deliberate effort to keep Congress out of town, keep us from asking questions.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) noted that senators held three committee hearings on the prison abuses before House leaders summoned Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to the Armed Services Committee last Friday — a day the Senate was meeting but the House was not. DeLay dismissed the idea of a full-fledged congressional investigation, which he likened to “saying we need an investigation every time there’s police brutality on the street.”
Pelosi complained: “Americans are out of work. Our troops are in danger in Iraq. Our reputation is in shreds throughout the world. And we’re leaving early afternoon on Thursday.”
She also said, “The House of Representatives has demonstrated that it is nothing more than a rubber stamp for the administration.”