To Boldly Go Where No Congress Has Gone Before
The 113th Congress is headed toward a very humble place in the record books by passing the fewest number of bills signed into law since that statistic was first tracked more than 70 years ago. Thus far, the House and Senate have passed only 15 bills, including one all-important piece of legislation that specified “the size of precious-metal blanks that will be used in the production of the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coins.” The current record low of 220 bills was set in the 112th Congress.
Forget about the sweeping reforms on major issues such as immigration and the U.S. Postal Service that were promised at the beginning of the year; Congress has not passed a single bill to fund the federal government for fiscal year (FY) 2014, which begins on October 1. So far, the House of Representatives has approved only four of the necessary 12 appropriations bills, while the Senate has yet to pass a single spending bill.
With just nine legislative days left in the fiscal year, it is a foregone conclusion that Congress will pass yet another continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. The only question is for how long. Congress may approve a short-term CR, allowing time for the House and Senate to pass all of the appropriations bills.
However, given congressional intransigence, it is likely that FY 2014 will end up as a second consecutive year where the federal government is funded through a CR, making it the third time in four years that Congress has failed to operate under a normal budgetary cycle. While an earmark-free CR may be good news for Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) overworked staff that completes the annual Congressional Pig Book, it is a highly irresponsible way to govern.
Speaking of earmarks, in recent months, several political commentators have advocated for their return, linking the present earmark moratorium to the unprecedented congressional gridlock. The theory goes that earmarks help grease the wheels for legislation; members’ votes are bought when they are allowed to add projects that serve local interests.
If this Machiavellian view of Congress is true (CAGW disagrees with that premise), it demonstrates that Congress is unable to perform its most basic tasks simply because there are no immediate kickbacks available to fund pet projects.
Congressional inertia and attempts to restore earmarks are only two of the many reasons why in July 2013 Congress set a new record with an 83 percent disapproval rating and tied an existing record with a 12 percent approval rating. The smart money is on the 113th Congress continuing to achieve new lows in output and ratings before the 114th Congress is sworn in.
