My Guest Column, "Congress historically unproductive" appeared in today's
1/18/12 Tri-County Press.
Congress historically unproductive As 2011 has ended,
the first session of the 112th U.S. Congress has stumbled to a bad-faith finish. This Congress has managed to create a disgraceful record of not dealing with the economic crisis facing this nation.
So far this past year, the 112th Congress has passed just 89 bills that President Obama has signed into law. Of those, three named appointees to the Smithsonian Institution, one created a military museum in Texas, and 21 named federal buildings and post offices.
It is a shabby and irresponsible record.
The 112th Congress has spent most of its time racing against the clock - passing short-term extensions to keep Washington open for business and fighting over matters that in the past have been routine.
Three countdowns to shutdown. The will-they-or-won't they over the payroll tax holiday and extension of unemployment benefits. The failed super committee. The debt-ceiling fight which ended in a downgrade. As a result of this brazen unaccountability, and Congressional gridlock caused by the GOP's anti-tax tirades and tantrums and willingness to blow by the debt-limit deadline, Standard and Poors downgraded the U.S. bond rating. A senior director at Standard and Poors remarked, "People in the political arena were talking about a potential default...That a country even has such rhetoric is notable...This kind of rhetoric is not common amongst AAA sovereigns."According to Thomas Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, "This year, blame for Congressional dysfunction isn't equally divided between the two parties. The Republican Party has become just adamant about taking hostages and making non negotiable demands."
