(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Tom Zirpoli: The do-nothing Republican House of Representatives | COMMENTARY [1]

['Tom Zirpoli']

Date: 2023-11-29

The current 118th Congress, which went into session on Jan. 3, 2023, is almost halfway through its two-year session and is on track to record the least amount of significant legislation of any Congress since 1931.

Almost all of the blame for this do-nothing Congress goes to Republicans, who hold the majority in the House of Representatives but can’t seem to select a leadership team, never mind pass legislation. The Senate majority is held by Democrats, but most of the legislation passed there dies in the Republican-controlled House.

Republicans in the House have done nothing for average Americans and, frankly, don’t seem to care. They have refused to consider any positive legislation, even bi-partisan legislation coming to them from the Senate. They have accomplished so little that even members of their own party are frustrated.

Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, is so frustrated his fellow Republicans have accomplished nothing for his constituents this year, asked members to name “one thing … that I can go campaign on and say we did.” He asked them to name just “one meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done.”

The House has passed nothing consequential for ordinary Americans. Two of the laws they have passed, for example, named a couple of Veterans Affairs clinics. Another ordered the minting of a commemorative coin to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is waiting for them to pass an operating budget.

Of course, they have been busy looking for evidence — any evidence — that President Joe Biden has engaged in corrupt behavior at some point in his life. This has not been successful, but they’ll keep looking. Meanwhile, they ignore blatant corruption among their own ranks and from a former Republican president.

The American people seem to agree that the 118th Congress is dysfunctional. A recent Gallup poll showed Congress with an approval rating of just 13%.

While not accomplishing anything, Republicans in Congress seem to be going out of their way to embarrass themselves. As Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts said, “I used to teach 4- to 6-year-olds. They were better behaved than some of the people in this place.”

She was referring to a physical confrontation between former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republican Rep. Tim Burchett who accused McCarthy of a “sucker punch” to his lower back. “It was a clean shot to the kidney,” Burchett said.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, during a hearing about labor unions, invited union leader Sean O’Brien to a fight in response to social media posts by O’Brien about Mullin. “If you want to run your mouth,” Mullin said, “we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.”

Luckily, there was an adult in the room to keep Mullin from further embarrassing himself and the Senate. Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont, sitting next to Mullin reminded him, “You’re a United States senator!” after Mullin stood up to confront O’Brien.

Mullin, not at all embarrassed by his inappropriate behavior, is advertising the confrontation in a new fundraising campaign. I guess that works in Oklahoma.

A year ago, at the end of the 117th congressional session, with Democrats in the majority, there was much accomplished. After Republicans talked about it for four years during the Donald Trump administration, Democrats passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden.

For ordinary Americans, this means funding for internet expansion in rural America and clean drinking water for millions of Americans who must depend on bottled water, to name just a couple of items funded by that bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Democrats also passed the largest gun safety bill to to b approved by Congress in 30 years. For comparison, Republicans in the current House recently passed a bill protecting gun manufacturers from being held liable for their products.

With Democrats in the majority, the 117th Congress also passed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act that provided funding for the manufacturing of semiconductor chips in America. Currently, America is dependent on China for this technology. Democrats in charge of the Senate and House were able to negotiate and secure Republican votes for these items supported by a majority of Americans.

When Democrats were in charge, they were also able to pass legislation without Republican votes. This included bills that reduced the cost of some prescription drugs, placed a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on prescription drug costs for Medicare patients and promoted clean energy investments.

They also fixed the IRS so it would have enough agents to collect revenue from tax cheats. All of these accomplishments had the support of a majority of Americans.

Because of Republican leadership in the House, America is unable to continue to support Ukraine from Russian aggression, unable to send aid to Israel and unable to send humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Because of their inaction, America is sitting on the sidelines as Russia and Hamas, both U.S enemies, heap violence and destruction on our friends and allies.

The current Congress demonstrates clearly who cares about ordinary Americans and their needs, as well as who wants to support the American ideals of democracy and freedom around the world. It surely is not the Republicans.

For those who disagree, I’ll quote Roy, the Texas congressman who asked his fellow members to show him just “one thing” he could say “the Republican majority has done.” Interestingly, his fellow Republicans had nothing to say. For once, they told the truth by remaining silent.

Tom Zirpoli is the Laurence J. Adams Distinguished Chair in Special Education Emeritus at McDaniel College. He writes from Westminster. His column appears on Wednesdays. Email him at [email protected].

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.baltimoresun.com/2023/11/29/tom-zirpoli-the-do-nothing-republican-house-of-representatives-commentary/

Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/