**
New post on *Scotty Starnes's Blog*
<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> 112th Congress
the Most Futile Since 1947…Only Passed 80 Bills…Harry Reid Senate Was
Even
Worse<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/112th-congress-the-most-futile-since-1947-only-passed-80-bills-harry-reid-senate-was-even-worse/>by
Scotty Starnes <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/>
This pretty much flies in the face of those "obstructionist" charges the
President and his Democrat cohorts have been screaming over the past year.
What they would like people to forget is the fact that Democrats control
the Senate. All bills originate in the House and are sent to the Senate for
a vote. It is the Senate that was the most futile last year and only passed
80 bills.
Harry Reid is the obstructionist.
Washington Times
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/15/congress-logs-most-futile-legislative-year-on-reco/?page=all#pagebreak>
reports:
It’s official: Congress <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/> ended
its least-productive year in modern history after passing 80 bills — fewer
than during any other session since year-end records began being kept in
1947.
Furthermore, an analysis by The Washington Times of the scope of such
activities as time spent in debate, number of conference reports produced
and votes taken on the House
andSenate<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/> floors
found that Congress <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/> set a
record for legislative futility by accomplishing less in 2011 than any
other year in history.
The Senate <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/>’s record was
weakest by a huge margin, according to the futility index, and the House
had its 10th-worst session on record.
Of the bills the 112th
Congress<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/> did
pass, the majority were housekeeping measures, such as naming post office
buildings or extending existing laws. Sometimes, it was too difficult for
the two chambers to hammer out agreements. More often, the
Senate<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/> failed
to reach agreement within the chamber.
That left much of the machinery of the federal government on autopilot,
with the exception of spending, where monumental clashes dominated the
legislative session.
“Absent unified party control with a bolstered
Senate<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/> majority,
I think it’s just very hard to get things done, particularly in a period
when revenues aren’t growing and the decisions are how to cut, and how to
cut in the long term,” said Sarah
Binder<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/sarah-binder/>,
who studies Congress <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/>
as a Brookings
Institution <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/brookings-institution/>
scholar
and professor at George Washington University.
“Congress<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/> just
isn’t very good at solving long-term problems.”
The futility record could be short-lived. The full House returns from a
monthlong Christmas <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/christmas/> break
on Tuesday to begin the second session, but all sides expect election-year
paralysis, meaning some of the usually routine bills may run into trouble.
Continue
reading>>><http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/15/congress-logs-most-futile-legislative-year-on-reco/?page=all#pagebreak>
*Scotty Starnes
<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/>*| January
16, 2012 at 10:53 AM | Tags: 112th
Congress <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=112th-congress>,
futile<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=futile>,
futility <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=futility>, Harry
Reid<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=harry-reid>,
House <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=house>,
obstructionist<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=obstructionist>,
Senate <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=senate> | Categories: Political
Issues <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?cat=35145> | URL:
http://wp.me/pvnFC-6nf
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