According to a June 2012 Gallup poll, 79 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. Perhaps this is because legislation passed by members of Congress is all too often a reflection of their parochial rather than overarching national interests. What this means for taxpayers is that instead of focusing on job creation, deficit reduction, and turning the economy around, Congress is wasting its resources on inconsequential measures, such as commemorative resolutions.

The 112th Congress has already introduced more than 1,200 “simple resolutions,” or bills defined by the Senate as those measures “used to express nonbinding positions of the Senate or to deal with the Senate’s internal affairs, such as the creation of a special committee.” The vast majority of these resolutions have no legislative significance. Since the beginning of 2011, more than 230 resolutions have been introduced to commemorate specific days, weeks, months, or years.

For example, Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) introduced a resolution designating July 28, 2012 as “National Day of the American Cowboy.” Other commemorations in July include “World Choir Games Month,” sponsored by Sen. Robert Portman (R-Ohio) and “Collector Car Appreciation Day” on July 13, 2012, sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution expressing support for the designation of a “Worldwide Day of Play.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has sponsored five commemorative resolutions since the beginning of 2011, including a resolution designating the first week in May as “National Physical Education and Sport Week.”

Several resolutions passed by the Senate have recognized annual commemorations, such as “Student Financial Aid Awareness Month” in February. For those who mark their calendars, February is also designated as “Black History Month,” “Hockey is For Everyone Month,” and “National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.”

The majority of simple resolutions have been approved by the Senate, which has a passage rate of 88 percent (442 out of 504), compared to 25 percent (177 out of 702) in the House. Since the beginning of 2011, the Senate has passed 117 commemorative resolutions, 69 percent of which were sponsored by Democrats. Over the same time, the Republican-led House has banned the passage of commemorative resolutions.

Though difficult to calculate, the cost of congressional resolutions is not insignificant. The Government Printing Office (GPO) is required to provide Congress with 260 copies of resolutions. The GPO typically prints between 325 and 475 copies of any bill or resolution, not to exceed a cost of $1,200 in either chamber. According to a June 6, 2012 article appearing in The Daily Caller, the Senate has spent more than $380,000 printing simple resolutions since the beginning of 2011.

In addition to printing costs, one must also factor in the amount of staff time spent on each resolution. Congressional staff must draft, title, and enter the legislation into the record. Members of Congress then must introduce, discuss, and vote on each resolution. This process consumes resources, costs taxpayers, and takes time away from addressing substantive issues.

In January of 2011, the House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of the STOP Act, a bill that would end the mandatory printing of congressional documents, and provide members of Congress with digital copies. Republicans estimated the savings to be $35 million over the next 10 years. Predictably, the legislation is now stalled in the Senate.

The federal government should take a lesson from the private sector, which is rapidly moving away from paper to digital documents. A congressional shift to digital distribution might also have the added benefit of increasing transparency if these bills were released to the public. All too often, legislation is publicized in unsearchable formats in the hours leading up to a vote, limiting the public’s opportunity for review.

The congressional penchant for pursuing simple resolutions as opposed to substantive issues should be of concern to taxpayers. It is irresponsible for Congress to waste resources drafting, printing, and voting on trivial declarations that play no part in improving the economic situation for millions of struggling Americans. It is time to get to work on the issues that will help put the country back on a sustainable fiscal course.

- Aaron Swensen