Where do the candidates stand on these issues

Posted at 8:10 AM on September 7, 2006 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

When you really look at the daily activities of Congress, the one inescapable fact is they really don't do much heavy lifting on a daily basis. Sure, there's a vote here and maybe a vote there but for the most part, it's siesta time on the floor itself.

Take yesterday, for example, by a 400-32 (not voting) vote, the House congratulated Spellman College on the occasion of its 125th anniversary.

Then, Congress voted 399-33 (not voting) to recognize "the Life of Preston Robert Tisch and His Outstanding Contributions to New York City, the New York Giants Football Club, the National Football League, and the United States."

And then by a 401-33 (not voting) vote, the folks passed the "Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act."

They all must have been plum tuckered out after a day like that.

Comments (2)

I'm no apologist for Congress, especially this Congress, but...committees? Ever heard of them? I worked for a member of Congress in the '90s. While it's not grueling work by any stretch, there is more "heavy lifting" required than is implied by the schedule of floor votes on ceremonial bills - it's just that it usually takes place in committee. By the time anything appears on the floor, it is usually a done deal.

Posted by Apologista | September 7, 2006 2:28 PM

Well, I'm not that smart but, oddly enough, I have heard of committees and -- yep -- there sure are a lot of them and I could be wrong but I don't believe anything actually can happen without a full floor vote.

One can only conclude that there's really nothing for the Congress folks to do today -- a day in which they tightened the bill which protects horses from being consumed by human, by the way -- because stuff hasn't passed out of committee.

And, let's face it. Like the Minnesota Legislature, most things don't pass out of committee and when you add up all the coverage that the committees get, it's far disproportionate to the amount of stuff -- beyond talk -- that actually gets done.

Reminds me of last session when pressing issues suddenly took a back seat to naming the Honeycrisp apple the official apple of Minnesota.

Why, with pressing issues to be decided, bother wasting time with such things?

Posted by Bob Collins | September 7, 2006 2:35 PM

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