Congress rates low in public mind

EEMS THAT MANY OF US ARE UPSET WITH CONGRESS' SPOTTY RECORD.

House & Senate lose our respect.

Here is what our trusty Congress did to us this past week.

1. The Republican dominated Senate defeated all of the following bills that would have restored cuts in funding for: No Child Left Behind for schools, Head Start for kids, Pell Grants for students, Special Ed for special needs kids, and after-school programs for kids. That is practically all they did.
2. The House passed a bill allowing sanctions to those filing so-called "frivolous" lawsuits. They rejected a bid by Democrats to exempt federal contractors from price gouging lawsuits being filed against them.
3. Democrats objected to Republican moves on the energy issue.

In just one week these measures show how a majority of voting Senators and Representatives feel about people who are least able to protect themselves- children, low income students and poor victims of the Gulf area hurricanes. (To be fair, however, the house did ratify the Base Closing list put forth by the BRAC Commission, and established the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for affordable housing for the poor).
The title of this post links to an AP story by Will Lester about recent poll results that are not surprising. To quote:

"Only one-third of Americans give Congress good ratings for its ethics and honesty, according to an AP-Ipsos poll that found more evidence of the public's longstanding disdain for the legislative branch of government."

These findings are similar to a study done by Yankelovich, Inc. published in US News, that I cited in a recent post. According to the study, Congress (and the press), compared to other fields, ranks near the bottom of the list. Former Texas Governor Ann Richards, associated with this project, states that "Americans are hungry for leadership." With the current administration's current failures, we really do need for Congress to step up and lead.

As for me, however, I admire many of those serving in Congress. They do a creditable job much of the time. You can see their names in previous blog posts; I even included a few moderate Republicans. At the same time I have been thinking about what it is about Congress that puts me off. Here are just a few of the many things:

• Many members have become too beholden to special interests. Just because someone does not financially support his/her elected Senator or Representative, does not mean that official is not legally bound to serve all living in their district.
• As an example, I found this article about recent action in the House pushing through additional subsidies for oil companies. Rather than trying to help consumers, these House members acted as the perfect example of what upsets the people who were polled.
• The Republican leadership has practically abdicated its oversight responsibility. They hold relatively meaningless hearings about issues that are not life and death for the nation. And the major crucial events or trends needing attention are purposefully ignored. The committee structure could use major streamlining .
• The Leadership does not nurture bipartisanship amongst the rank and file. There does not seem to be any appetite for finding commonality more near the center of the political spectrum.
• At this point the existence of ethics committees is relatively meaningless. And the Campaign Finance law has holes in it through which you could drive a good sized truck.

I always like to know more about the legislative branch. I learn on the web and by reading the papers or watching C-Span. Here are some good web resources.

1. The well known Congressional Quarterly is covered by the WaPo here.
2. This Congressional newsletter might help you keep up with the more obscure aspects of Congressional action.
3. This rather estoeric site is designed to teach legal researchers. However, it has a long list of sites that might be useful for those of us who are really "nerdy." Be sure to fill out a form to copy any copyrighted material.

Finally, I have no good plan for forcing Congress to do a better job. The closest I can come is to remind them that the election will happen next year, and that they will be held accountable again. Thank goodness those opportunities come around on a regular basis.