Our hard-working 110th Congress reached a milestone on July 30th: It introduced its 10,000th bill of the session.
Some of these are:
HR 4117: To suspend temporarily the duty on certain electronic dimming ballasts with a three wire control scheme.
HR 6470: To provide for the designation of certain sites in Monroe County and Wayne County, Michigan, relating to the Battles of the River Raisin during the War of 1812 as a unit of the National Park System.
HR 6586: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3624 Commercial Street Southeast in Salem, Oregon, as the "Sue Miller Post Office Building".
HR 703: To assist in the establishment of an interpretive center and museum in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to protect and interpret the history of the industrialization of the United States.
HR 6753: To provide for the issuance of a commemorative postage stamp on the subject of inflammatory bowel disease.
HR 6808: To establish a commission to study the culture and glorification of violence in America.
And then there are ones like S. 1420, “A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to require staff working with developmentally disabled individuals to call emergency services in the event of a life-threatening situation.”
Think about it. They have to pass a bill to call emergency services in the event of a life-threatening situation? Isn’t that what one is supposed to do? It is called “Danielle’s Act”, so I am assuming it came as a result of a particular case, but I find it quite odd that this is a matter for Congress. I would think that an agency’s neglect would be a matter for prosecution, not legislation.
While all of this was going on, we have failed to consider the most basic and most important pieces of business before us, namely the budget resolution and appropriations bills.
Have we given Congress so much responsibility and so much involvement in the details of our lives that they can’t tackle the big issues?
What is going on here?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
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9 comments:
Ah, the wise curmudgeon asks when she already knows!
This is modern American government going on here!
Let's give em more to do, like putting them in charge of our energy and health care. Yup, that's the ticket.
Ah, the wise curmudgeon asks when she already knows!
This is modern American government going on here!
Let's give em more to do, like putting them in charge of our energy and health care. Yup, that's the ticket.
It is all driving me quite insane.
A lot of the examples cited are just constituent service bills- you get a group or an individual on as tear about some pressing issue, you throw a bill in the hopper for them.
For some others, though, these bills might be as important as Ron Paul's bill to limit border officials' ability to seize personal information and computers, cited, with approval, recently on this blog. It all depends on whom you ask, and what their priorities are. Just as the examples chosen by the poster presumably reflect the desire to make a point by selecting exemplars like-minded readers will agree are silly.
If Congress had held hearings, and voted, on all 10,000 bills, I might be more persuaded they are spending time on the wrong issues. But, of course, they haven't, and when you figure 10,000 bills divided by 535 members,that's only about 19 a year- enough to prompt a critic to say they AREN'T earning their keep.
A commemorative postage stamp on the subject of inflammatory bowel disease?
I think that opens too many doors for more idiotic commemorative stamps - I wouldn't lick that one with your tongue!
Don't get me started!
Yup,
That is usually the problem with a chainsaw..... Can't get em started ;)
Waldo says: when you figure 10,000 bills divided by 535 members,that's only about 19 a year- enough to prompt a critic to say they AREN'T earning their keep.
I think that just the opposite is true. The FEWER bills the better; just ones of substance, and have a real value to the country. So-called "constituent services" are hogwash, and I can call my own self out on that one:
My friend Larry Binger who represented Delaware in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, had something read into the Congressional Record about his accomplishments. Another one right after that was something about a congratulating someone for working 30 years at a diner. Now that's all feel-goody and stuff, but I know that Larry would rather have more attention on veterans issues than on a totally-cool-embossed piece of paper that will, as he says, "collect dust".
Yes, Waldo, everyone has their own agendas, yourself included. And we all press on those things that are important to us. That is the nature of the world and of humanity. My point here is that Congress is neglecting things of great importance. They need to establish their priorities of what to deal with.
Then, let the cards fall where they may.
Can't get em started ;)
LOL, Anon....but then again, once you get 'em started....WATCH OUT !
They kick,
They bite,
They sing while they work.
And they usually annoy the neighbors!
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