Sunday, August 26, 2007
The "Do Nothing" Congress?
Before the Democrats adjourned the Congress for summer (or the August) recess, the Republicans and their allies made a great deal of political hay about the inability of the Democrat majority to make good on any of its promises--particularly to move legislation forward. And the press has seemingly taken the bait, focusing only on the actions of the Congress without also taking into account obstructionism by the Republican minority or President.
In today's New York Times, Brookings Scholar (and co-author of the very fine book, The Broken Branch) Thomas Mann has an Op/Ed with chart comparing the accomplishments with the Democratic majority to the Republican majority from last year, and with the newly minted Republican majority from 1995--the 104th Congress. The majority that had its own "Contract with America" that promised the Earth, Moon, and Sky. And it shows some pretty interesting stuff.
The 104th Congress only managed to get 28 bills signed into law by President Clinton with two bills vetoed (sustained). So far, the 110th has passed 55 bills signed into law by President Bush with two bills vetoed (sustained). And when compared with the last Congress, first session, the Democrats are only 5 behind their final totals. Now the critics complain that a large chunk of those bills passed and signed by the 110th are those that rename post offices or roads. This is part of the story, but not all of it. The majority of the bills passed by the current House majority have been either substantive or routine--not symbolic, which is where the "post office" bills fall. When compared with the Republican majority of the 109th, that is an improvement. In the Senate, most of the bills have been either routine or symbolic, but that is in line with the Republican majority of the 109th. And the substantive numbers in the Senate are an improvement over their Republican counterparts. And this doesn't take into account the appropriations bills that will be passed in the coming weeks. So the 110th's numbers are going to climb well over their Republican counterparts--whether it is last session or their first session in the leadership position.
Another caveat to consider is the resistance that the current Democratic majority faces with the Republican minority--obstructionism. This is a strategy to drag down the publics perception of the Congress--and thus the Democrats who control it. In the 109th, 1st Session, the Republicans successfully invoked cloture 11 times and failed five. So far, the Democrats have been successful invoking cloture 22 times and failing 20. Off the chart challenges by the Republicans, who have made "the filibuster, or the threat of filibuster, routine, setting a 60-vote hurdle for all contested legislative matters."
One final item of promise over the previous six years involves oversight. It is up across the board. In the House, the 109th 1st Session, there were almost 400 hearings and so far in the 110th, the Democrats have held just over 600 hearings with more to come. In the Senate, there were 219 oversight hearings in the 109th and 308 in the 110th, with more likely to come.
You gotta hand it to Mann. He put together the nice chart to make it as simple as possible for the press to have some context to the spin--from either the Republicans or the Democrats. You wonder whether this simplicity is still too much?
In today's New York Times, Brookings Scholar (and co-author of the very fine book, The Broken Branch) Thomas Mann has an Op/Ed with chart comparing the accomplishments with the Democratic majority to the Republican majority from last year, and with the newly minted Republican majority from 1995--the 104th Congress. The majority that had its own "Contract with America" that promised the Earth, Moon, and Sky. And it shows some pretty interesting stuff.
The 104th Congress only managed to get 28 bills signed into law by President Clinton with two bills vetoed (sustained). So far, the 110th has passed 55 bills signed into law by President Bush with two bills vetoed (sustained). And when compared with the last Congress, first session, the Democrats are only 5 behind their final totals. Now the critics complain that a large chunk of those bills passed and signed by the 110th are those that rename post offices or roads. This is part of the story, but not all of it. The majority of the bills passed by the current House majority have been either substantive or routine--not symbolic, which is where the "post office" bills fall. When compared with the Republican majority of the 109th, that is an improvement. In the Senate, most of the bills have been either routine or symbolic, but that is in line with the Republican majority of the 109th. And the substantive numbers in the Senate are an improvement over their Republican counterparts. And this doesn't take into account the appropriations bills that will be passed in the coming weeks. So the 110th's numbers are going to climb well over their Republican counterparts--whether it is last session or their first session in the leadership position.
Another caveat to consider is the resistance that the current Democratic majority faces with the Republican minority--obstructionism. This is a strategy to drag down the publics perception of the Congress--and thus the Democrats who control it. In the 109th, 1st Session, the Republicans successfully invoked cloture 11 times and failed five. So far, the Democrats have been successful invoking cloture 22 times and failing 20. Off the chart challenges by the Republicans, who have made "the filibuster, or the threat of filibuster, routine, setting a 60-vote hurdle for all contested legislative matters."
One final item of promise over the previous six years involves oversight. It is up across the board. In the House, the 109th 1st Session, there were almost 400 hearings and so far in the 110th, the Democrats have held just over 600 hearings with more to come. In the Senate, there were 219 oversight hearings in the 109th and 308 in the 110th, with more likely to come.
You gotta hand it to Mann. He put together the nice chart to make it as simple as possible for the press to have some context to the spin--from either the Republicans or the Democrats. You wonder whether this simplicity is still too much?
