Hey, Congress: You’re Fired!
Mar 14th, 2010 by Rick Arms
It’s hard to believe that most members of Congress, if they worked at any private company in America, would still be employed after their last year on the job.
How would Democratic and Republican leaders fare on the basic performance review that most workers encounter annually? When graded on a scale of “exceeds expectations,” “meets expectations” or “fails to meet expectations,” what grade would they get on improving health care? Or focusing on the economy? Or teamwork?
Judge for yourself. After a year of debating, cajoling, refusing and posturing, Congress seems no closer to agreeing on health care reform after the president’s hire-wire bipartisan summit than they did before it. It’s the president’s top domestic priority, but he’s done little to bridge the differences that are splitting the Democratic caucus, or to win over Republicans to make up for the difference.
As Americans continued to struggle with double-digit unemployment, home foreclosures, and access to credit, the latest victim of congressional infighting this week was the Democrats’ economic agenda, including a jobs bill and an extension of COBRA and unemployment benefits, which expire Sunday for more than one million out-of-work Americans.
The week in Washington opened with what seemed like a victory for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as the Senate passed a jobs bill he crafted by a vote of 70 to 28. Reid had infuriated Democrats and Republicans alike the week before by scuttling a popular, bipartisan $85 billion jobs package for his own smaller version, but his risk seemed to pay off when 13 Republicans crossed party lines to support his revised bill.
Reid’s measure would put $15 billion toward several plans designed to create jobs, including $13 billion for a payroll tax holiday for small businesses to hire new workers, a reauthorization of the highway trust fund to kick-start road building, and a bond issue to finance construction of schools and energy projects.
But the House of Representatives had passed its own jobs bill in December, a far broader measure that came in at $154 billion and was so different from Reid’s bill that the lower chamber would have to take up the Senate measure instead. By Thursday the House Democrats had refused to go along with the Senate legislation. They felt burned by moderates in the Senate for leaving them at the altar on an energy bill and the health care reform public option earlier this year, but three factions had more specific objections.
Rep. Jim Oberstar, the top Democrat on the Transportation Committee, wanted to know where the $75 billion in transportation moeny from the first bill had gone. The Blue Dog coalition, the fiscal hawks in the House Democratic caucus, complained that Reid’s bill violated the pay-as-you-go rules that the House had passed just weeks ago, while members of the Congressional Black Caucus said that the Senate bill had too many tax cuts and not enough spending to actually create new jobs for the people that they represent.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assured reporters on Friday that the House would pass the bill. But the potential mutiny from Democrats’ different factions pushed a vote to next week, when Pelosi and her lieutenants will try to muster more support for Reid’s scaled-back bill.
As the Speaker attempted to whip her members into line on the House side, another jobs-related mini-drama broke out across the Capitol on the Senate side, where retiring Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning began a filibuster on a portion of the jobs bill. It was a section that Reid had stripped out days earlier but then brought back up for a vote– an extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidies for more than 1 million Americans whose benefits run out this weekend.
Bunning’s objection to the measure, he said, was that it would add to the ballooning federal deficit, an outcome he suggested could be avoided by using unspent stimulus funds to pay for the bill. But Democrats attacked the Kentucky senator as being nakedly partisan.
Sen. Dick Durbin, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, lambasted Bunning during an unusual late-night session, as Bunning objected to every effort by Democrats to pass the measure Thursday night.
“The most vulnerable families in America are going to suffer because of this political decision by one senator,” said Durbin, (D-Ill.) “We will be back, we will try to get this done. And to those families: Hang in there.”
Bunning promised, “I’ll be here as long as you are here.”
Believing they have a winning issue on their hands, Democrats mobilized against Bunning Saturday, with the White House accusing the Republican of “political gamesmanship” and several Democratic senators holding a conference call to blast Bunning’s moves. “Democrats understand that real Americans count on these benefits every week to keep the bills paid and put food on the table,” the Democrats press release read.
Without action, jobless benefits will run out Sunday for those who have been out of work the longest. But with even more deficit spending, experts warn the income taxes of future workers will have to double just to pay the interest on the national debt.
The Senate will gavel back into session for votes Tuesday, with Durbin and Bunning both promising to be there to argue their sides,but whether anything gets accomplished is anyone’s guess.
A job review for most of these members of Congress is coming up in November when voters will decide if they should keep their positions for this kind of performance. Most Americans don’t seem to think so. In Gallup’s latest poll, voters gave Congress a job approval rating of 18 percent, while a New York Times/ CBS News poll showed just 8 percent of Americans think most members of Congress deserve to be re-elected.
The message to Congress in those numbers– the unemployment benefits you extend next week could be your own.
BYE-BYE !!!! YOU WLL NOT BE MISSED !!!!
EVERYBODY NOW!!!!! GET OUT!!!
Look we elect Congress and everyone seems to believe the problems is every other state’s senators and reps.
Until we impose strict term limits with our votes every 2-3 terms regardless, we will continue to have the same problems with arrogance, corruption, ethical lapses and ignoring the will of the people.
It really is that simple… Really.
The republicans don’t even like Sen. Bunning. That’s why he’s not running this November because the republicans dried up all of his campaign funds. They want him out and now I can see why. Anyone that would want to cut off Americans unemployment and COBRA insurance because they lost their job in this recession deserves to be tossed out. There is a special place in hell fo Sen. Bunning.
Vote Them ALL OUT,REP or DEMS just no incumbents after this !!Let them know constituents are who they represent Not their own or SPECIAL INTERESTS
It is waaaaaaaaay past time for a good “House”cleaning (and Senate) Throw the bums out!!!!!!
Especially the Party of NO!
Just need to get rid of the communists.
Fire everyone of them. There may be a few, OK maybe one, honest person in congress but they all need to go. Bring in fresh faces that want to help get this country on track not just line their own pockets and that goes for both parties.
throw out the party of O. all obots must go
Actually, if Congress was an average household it would’ve been foreclosed on by now with weeds spouting in the yard and cobwebs dangling from ceilings thanks to out-of-control spending. Maybe we should replace Congress with a few good people accustomed to working with bankrupcies?
congress should have no more than 2 terms, No lifetime benefits and if caught doing anything illegal, prosecute to the full extent of the law and have them repay there salaries for time served.
Tammy your headed in the right direction….
I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.
Your right Tammy. we need to get them out. they should get the same benefits and insurance that the American people have.
I csn’t understand how they can vote themselves a raise, while denying increase for S.S. What company have you ever work for allowed you to vote in your own raise?
I’m for limited terms and no lifetime benefits.
We have to get this administration out before they destroy us.
Fire them ALLLLLL
Fire them all??…….It’s way past that point….they should all be tried as traitors….then jailed….then hung from trees all around Washington as a warning to the next politicians who want to screw America!!!
the members in Congress…..draw their salaries of %174,000….so truly why should any of them worry about what is going on with the rest of us…
they will just bleed the accounts dry….and not worry about anything….until there is no more money…..these people need to be VOTED OUT…..this is the only way they are going to FIGURE IT OUT….
I am guessing you still have a job?
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And you still have health care?
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People out of work paid into the system to support unemployement. Welfare helps people survive desperation, so that they can join a work force and achieve the American dream.
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Apparently a couple of “Bluedogs” and Republications have never lived through harse times? Or maybe their have sold their Soul to the Devil?
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So, we pay a little more taxes-who cares? It’s only money and you can’t take it with you!
You would feel different if you or someone you knew was unemployed this long. The trouble with Congress is all of them will have retirement and benefits equal to what they have right now. We will never have that, no matter how long we work. Is that right?
I believe they should give up their 100% health care until they make sure all Americans can get health care. And in CA, legislators think the way to balance their budget is just to take more from us ordinary folk at every turn - and bankrupt our schools, cities, and counties. They have another think coming!
people are dependant on the government that put them out of work in the first place . Maybe if you had an education then you would have a revelent point here. But, as we all can tell, you don’t.
How ignorant can you be? 10% unemployment, 6 workers competing for every 1 available job, and you are afraid unemployment benefits that are below wages earned will make American dependent! What planet do you and the 140+ who agree with you inhabit? There has always been a 20% loon factor in American culture and politics. You loons come out of the woodwork when it comes to these comments.
Be sure they all have a job befoe yo let them go. We do not want them on unemployment do we ?
If only there was a provision that would let us fire them for sub-par performance. I think the overwhelming majority from both parties would support term limits as a good start.
I just got an email from Sen. Al Franken stating that he DOES NOT support term limits. Sounds like he likes the gravy train in D.C.
I know over a hundred people that agree with you 100%
Amendment XXIII
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the House of Representatives for more than five terms, or serve in the House of Representatives for more than four consecutive terms. In the event that a person has held office in the House of Representatives for more than half the term for which another was originally elected, that term shall count against the total for which that person may be elected and serve.
Section 2. No person shall be elected to the United States Senate for more than three terms, or serve in the United States Senate for more than two consecutive terms. In the event that a person has held office in the United States Senate for more than half the term for which another was elected, that term shall count against the total for which that person may be elected and serve.
Section 3. No person actively seated in the House of Representatives or the United States Senate may seek election for any public office other than to seek reelection to their current seat until their active term of office expires. In the event that a person chooses to seek election for another public office they shall be required to resign their office, and the resulting vacancy shall be filled as specified in Article I.
Section 4. No person shall be elected to the House of Representatives or the United State Senate unless they have actively resided in the district and/or state for which they seek election for a minimum of two years. For the purposes of this section, actively resided shall be defined as establishing a permanent domicile and being gainfully employed, or operating a business ,and physically spending at least fifty-percent of their time residing within the geographical limits of said district and/or state.
Section 5. In the event that a seat in either house becomes vacant, a special election, among the electorate of district being represented by said seat, shall be held to fill the seat within 60 days of the vacancy, unless the special election would fall within 60 days of a regularly scheduled general election, in which case the special election would be incorporated into the ballot for that election.
And after all such a distinction is important to know coming when it concerns the rantings of a thrice married and divorced, dope friend who panders to the 20% loon factor in American culture and politics for profit.
Deficit records were set under Regan and Bush. Over 500 billion of the 2009 deficit is directly attributable to the two unfunded Bush/Cheney wars and the unfunded tax cuts. The unfunded prescription drug progran will add billions to the deficit. It is projected that the Bush/Cheney fiscal mismangement will cost approximately 1 trillion dollars in each of the next ten years.
Bush/Cheney and the Republicant Party - real fiscal conservatives!
If bush hadn’t f’d up the country so bad obama wouldn’t even be in office. i don’t know why everyone is so mad at obama. it is bush that let all this crap happen. that is why he almost ran over obama trying to get out of the white house….with his hair standing straight up on his head. obama has to spend a lot to clean up this bs that bush left behind.
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Sincerly
Greets
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Ciao
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