The US House of Representatives went home this week on what they probably think is a well-deserved break--the way a teenager thinks he deserves to go to a party after being closed up in his room doing homework all afternoon. Not that he actually DID his homework. Oh, he had the textbook propped open, or his computer screen showing a website on quantum physics, in case you checked on him, but really, he was texting his buddies and playing games on his phone.
The House was like that this session.
The homework? They were supposed to pass a farm bill, you know so the folks who grow our food can grow our food. The House also failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act--completely bipartisan and nothing to argue about, but it didn't get done. They had promised to pass a Trade Bill with Russia and renew the Bush tax cuts. They're due to make spending decisions before the October 1 deadline but haven't scratched the surface. And they absolutely should have passed a bill to head off the financial default of the Postal Service (the equivalent of a term paper due yesterday), but left for their recess without doing that either. They swore, when they headed into the session that jobs were their biggest priority. We're still waiting.
What DID they do?
They passed over 60 bills renaming Post Office and US Courthouse buildings.
They wasted time trying to repeal or defund the Affordable Healthcare Act. How many times? 33? 34? I've lost count.
At least once a month, they introduced new abortion bills, the latest targeting the District of Columbia.
The other day, just before recessing, instead of dealing with all their unfinished and overdo homework, they decided to hold a hearing on a proposed English-only bill which essentially would have denied help to anyone who can't communicate well in English, even if they're, say, calling the IRS to ask questions about filing taxes for work they legally did in the US. (Author's note: I received income from a Japanese company once, and they took out taxes. They sent me instructions in English and didn't expect me to speak Japanese.)
The House also passed 612 resolutions, mostly stuff like "H.Con.Res. 105: Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha." It's amazing to me that the House is in charge of saying what room is used for what. In any corporation, you'd have an admin assistant handle those details.
And let's not forget all the posturing. Every week some congressman got his knickers in a twist about some "hot button" issue. Or at least hot button to them, if not anyone else. Just last Wednesday, Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania drew a parallel between the AHCA's benefit of free birth control, and the attacks on Pearl Harbor and 9/11. The day, he said, "would live in infamy." Talk about your teenage drama and temper tantrums.
My message to Congress? Grow up.
But they can't hear me. They've gone off to their party for the next month, leaving their work unfinished. And the sad thing is, some of them will be voted back in, when they should be grounded for life. Their constituents are like bad parents, not involved enough in their kids' lives to realize what's going on, thinking their children can do no harm.
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