Has this Congress, which has been in-session for less time than any in the last six decades, earned its “do-nothing” title? Consider the tale of the tape.
At best, it appears that just 2 of the 11 required spending bills will pass, and not one has been approved so far, forcing a stopgap measure to keep the federal government open. No budget was enacted. A popular package of business and education tax credits is teetering. A lobbying overhaul, once a top priority in view of corruption scandals, is dead. The drive for broad immigration changes has derailed.
An offshore oil drilling bill painted as an answer to high gas prices is stalled. Plans to cut the estate tax and raise the minimum wage have floundered, and an important nuclear pact with India sought by the White House is not on track to clear Congress. New problems surfaced over the weekend for the annual military authorization bill. And numerous other initiatives await a planned lame-duck session in mid-November or a future Congress.
“It is disappointing where we are, and I think Republicans need to be upfront about this,” said Representative Jack Kingston, Republican of Georgia and a member of the House leadership. “We have not accomplished what we need to accomplish.”
I like the fact that Kingston urged Republicans to “be upfront about this,” but alas, few are taking his advice. Indeed, as far as Bill Frist’s office is concerned, it’s clear who’s responsible for the Republican Congress’ inability to legislate: Democrats.
“With obstruction from the Democrats at an all-time high, we have focused on four security issues in an effort to enact some solid, substantive accomplishments,” said Eric M. Ueland, chief of staff to Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, who is stepping down at the end of this session.
The NYT, to its credit, notes how false the claim is: “[I]ntramural fights and sharp differences between House and Senate Republicans have been chief impediments to major legislation.”
But I was also struck by how bizarre the charge from Frist’s office really is. Dem “obstruction” is at an “all-time high”? What on earth is Ueland referring to? I’m hard pressed to think of a single piece of legislation that congressional Dems have filibustered or blocked from the floor through procedural holds. Literally, not one bill this entire year.
In contrast, in 1994, the last year in which there was a Democratic president with a Democratic Congress, Republicans launched more filibusters in one year than in the first 108 years of the Senate combined. At one point, Senate Republicans filibustered five pieces of legislation in one week.
When Dems’ tactics mirror those of the GOP, maybe then we can start talking about “obstruction” reaching an “all-time high.”