posted July 12, 2006 06:31 PM            

July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Republicans head into the final stretch of what Democrats are calling a "do-nothing Congress" that has achieved none of the key items of President George W. Bush's agenda.

Just a year and a half after Republicans increased their majorities in the 2004 elections, Bush's Social Security overhaul plan has been shelved, his vow to restructure the tax code postponed indefinitely and his calls for reshaping medical malpractice long-forgotten. The administration's current major initiative, an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, is hanging by a thread on Capitol Hill.

Republicans may pay a price for their inaction in this November's election, said David Mayhew, a congressional scholar at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. "If they get into September and they still have not done anything on immigration, then they are heavily subject to the charge that they can't tie their shoes," he said.

Even Dick Armey, a former Republican House majority leader, is warning of repercussions. "I'm sure that the Democrats will want to run on the 'do-nothing Congress' theme, and my own view is that they probably have some ground to stand on," said Armey, 66, who now heads FreedomWorks, a Washington-based group that advocates lower taxes.

Bush's immigration plan has stalled over a Senate-backed proposal to allow undocumented workers to win legal status. Failure by Congress to act -- coming after the collapse of Bush's proposal to create private Social Security accounts -- would mark the first time in recent history that a president whose party controls both chambers of Congress has been rebuffed on two consecutive No. 1 priorities.

Reasons for the Trickle

Analysts offer several reasons for the trickle of legislative output this year: the war in Iraq, the president's reduced standing in the polls, election-year politics that make passing far-reaching measures difficult, budget deficits that have left little money for new initiatives, and the "curse" that historically has left many second-term presidents struggling to match first-term accomplishments.

While lawmakers still have time to shore up their list of accomplishments before facing voters in the fall, they are currently scheduled to meet for fewer than 30 full working days before going home to run for re-election. And the ratio of campaigning to legislating is sure to grow between now and then.

Republicans defend the party's record, saying they have faced a number of obstacles, including Democratic intransigence and the resignation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay after he was indicted in a Texas political-financing case.

Still Time

Representative Mike Castle, a Delaware Republican, said his party still has time to complete some of the items on its agenda, including new lobbying rules, an overhaul of pensions, limits on the estate tax, funding for stem-cell research and the spending measures needed to fund the government next year.

"I think it's going to be, actually, a fairly successful Congress, in an election year," said Castle.

Republicans began the 109th Congress, in January 2005, with Bush promising to push a far-reaching agenda. "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it," Bush said days after he was re-elected in November 2004. The president made Social Security the top domestic priority of his second term, devoting a 60-day, 60-city campaign-style tour to advance his plan. With polls showing most Americans opposed to it, his proposal never made it to a vote.

Prime-Time Address

Likewise, this year, he devoted a prime-time television address to push for an immigration overhaul that has divided Republicans on Capitol Hill and is unlikely to be considered by Congress any time soon.

"Immigration is an issue that has reached critical mass" with the public, said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster. "If Congress does nothing about this constant and repeated demand to do something, then there's likely to be a lot of frustration against anybody who is in."

Congress's sparse record so far contrasts with Bush's first term. In his first two years, when Democrats held control of the Senate most of the time, Republicans cut taxes by $1.35 trillion, approved the "No Child Left Behind" education legislation and passed the most sweeping rewrite of campaign-finance laws in nearly 30 years.

During the second half of Bush's first term, through 2004, Republicans created a prescription-drug plan, cut taxes by more than $600 billion and restricted so-called "partial-birth" abortions.

Historical Resonance

For Democrats, the "do-nothing Congress" theme has historical resonance. That was the label President Harry Truman hung on the Republican-dominated 80th Congress from 1946 to 1948, which helped propel him to a re-election victory that is widely considered the greatest upset in American political history.

This time out, Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada say the moniker will be a key talking point in the campaign leading up to the Nov. 7 elections. Democrats need to gain 16 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives for a majority. In the 100-member Senate, Democrats need to gain six seats; they are defending 18 of the 33 seats up this year.

Democrats aren't the only ones sounding the do-nothing theme. The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based public policy research group that usually backs Republicans, issued a report criticizing lawmakers' productivity.

Flirting With Failure

"As the 109th Congress draws closer to its conclusion, there is growing disappointment amount many members and voters over how little has been accomplished," the organization said. "Both the House and Senate are flirting with a failing grade for their performance."

A growing number of voters believe the Congress is less productive than it should be, according to a recent poll. The Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reported last month that 45 percent of voters believe Congress has accomplished "less than usual," more than twice as many as in June 2002. Only 38 percent of respondents expressed similar frustrations in October 1994, just before Republicans won control of Congress.

Republicans say that by the end of this session, they will be able to point to achievements including extending tax breaks on capital and dividends, renewing the anti-terrorism Patriot Act and cutting entitlement spending by $39 billion over the next five years. That's in addition to legislation approved last year overhauling bankruptcy laws, restricting class-action lawsuits, creating a free-trade agreement with Central America and rewriting energy laws.

Democrats say those aren't likely to resonate with many voters -- particularly in light of the fact that lawmakers are scheduled to meet fewer days than any Congress since Truman was president.

"It's the laziest Congress since 1948," said Representative Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat. "We're working fewer days and getting less done."

posted July 12, 2006 06:54 PM            

For my part, I would like to see the Congress do less, a hell of a lot less. Absent an emergency, I would be willing to double their salaries...if they passed legislation which shortened their year to 30 days in Washington and forbade them being in the Capitol at any other time conducting Congressional business. On the basis of "what they're not doing is usually better than what they are doing." What they do most is spend taxpayer money.

Still, it all gets down to voter turnout so we'll have to wait and see which slice of the electorate gets out and votes.

posted July 12, 2006 07:55 PM            

Ahhh... wouldn't that be a dream? It still galls me that they can serve one term on office and they're set with a retirement and lifetime healthcare. UGH!!!

posted July 13, 2006 08:58 AM              

Let's do it The Republican Way for once!

Right On!!!!!