Progress Illinois

Talk about lazy journalism. In a front-page article today, the Wall Street Journal laments the lackluster legislative activity of the 110th Congress without providing any proper context:

Barring a burst of legislative activity after Labor Day, this group of 535 men and women will have accomplished a rare feat. In two decades of record keeping, no sitting Congress has passed fewer public laws at this point in the session -- 294 so far -- than this one. [..]

"The Democrats in charge of this Congress have been heavy on fluff and light on substance," says Republican leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. "Resolutions are fine but why aren't we also passing legislation to lower gas prices? What about health-care reform and runaway entitlement spending?"

That's a good question, John. But I think your old colleague, former Sen. Trent Lott, spelled out the reason perfectly clearly last April:

“The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail ... and so far it's working for us."

You wouldn't know it reading the Journal article, but the Republicans are deliberately engaging in a "block and blame" strategy whereby they erect legislative firewalls that prevent majority-favored bills from passing and then blame the Democrats for not getting anything done.

As we highlighted last week, this approach is best represented in the House by the GOP's reliance on the "motion to recommit," a parliamentary maneuver that gives the minority a final shot to amend a bill before it's voted on by the body -- effectively delaying, modifying, or killing the legislation. CQ explains:

So far, Republicans have racked up 116 motions to recommit during the 110th Congress, more than double the previous record of 56 set by the 109th Congress. Of those motions, 24 were adopted, far more than the previous record of six during the 106th Congress.

In the upper chamber, the Center for America's Future (pdf) reports that 40 to 45 Senate Republicans have filibustered every major bill Democrats have tried to pass since the 2006 midterm elections. By July 22, the 110th Congress had already racked up 94 cloture votes (called to end filibusters) compared to a total of 54 cloture votes in the 109th Congress and 49 the Congress before that. We're now on pace to double the number of filibuster threats and cloture votes in recent years.

What are some of the bills we are missing out on? A slew of energy laws, including $18 billion in tax credits to improve energy efficiency and produce renewable energy and a cap-and-trade plan. A plan to withdrawal troops from Iraq. Full voting representation for the District of Columbia. A Medicare presciption drug negotiation bill that would have saved $96 billion over 10 years. And don't forget the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.