Really? Well, according to the article, the 113th congress was the second least productive (where productivity is measured by the number of bill signed into law from 2013-2014). The least productive Congress was the 112th. Somehow this isn't comforting. So far, 296 bills have become law during the 113th Congress. If you want to see how this compares with previous Congresses, follow the above link.
Now it's no secret everyone has been frustrated with Congress recently. A Gallup Poll from August 2014 indicated that the 113th Congress had the highest disapproval ratings since 1974, with 83% saying they disapproved. It isn't that members of Congress aren't working, it is that they aren't working together. From studying Congress, we understand the the political elites tend to be either more conservative or more liberal than the average American, but the the 113th Congress is especially polarized. There is an interesting chart from in article in The Washington Post that shows the relation between ideological differences among parties and the number of bills passed into law. You can read that article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/03/how-congress-became-the-most-polarized-and-unproductive-its-ever-been/
Unit 6
Wow. I went and read that article, and I have to say, while numerically the 113th may have beat out the 112th, I don't feel like they really did. Over 50 bills in 2014 ALONE that existed simply to name a building? Sounds like cheating to me. I'm sure that the 112th did that sort of thing too, but it is still disappointing that more than a sixth of all bills passed were naming something. And if you look at the full list since 1947, all previous Congresses stayed well above the 300 mark, with the third-lowest at 333 bills passed. Ouch.
ReplyDelete-Liam Brookhart
I think the 50 bills trying to name a building alone testify to how ineffective our congress is...it's probably cheating but it speaks to the point in another way.
DeleteAt first I was surprised with the 296 bills (sounds like a big number, right?), but if you compare it to other Congresses, it really is not that many (the 84th passed over 1,000 bills). Considering how much legislation is proposed in Congress, there should be more than 296 bills passed.
ReplyDeleteLeast productive in US history, you say? Hmm...I wonder wh--OH WAIT! It's cause we can't get anything done! 296 bills? Really? To me it just sounds like a bunch of selfish, power mongering people bicker all the time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they aren't being very proactive and it may not be that much but they aren't doing anything to get it done
ReplyDeleteOne part of the problem could be fixed by having term restrictions on members of congress. This could help get new people in an maybe progress could be more productive.But this won't happen because congress would be the ones voting on it and they wouldn't take away their own power.
ReplyDeleteCongress has become alarmingly idealistic, and the majority of the members just won't compromise with the other side. The problem is we keep electing them, even though they show way more deference to each's party ideals than to us, their constituents.
ReplyDeleteYour right it isn't comforting that it wasn't the least productive but the one directly before it. Someone needs to step up and be the bigger man to get the two sides to work together. Why can't they see the reasons for why they're unsuccessful?
ReplyDelete