New York times times: in congress gridlock and harsh consequnces

Unitedwestand13 · Jul 10, 2013

a snapshot of how gridlocked our congress has become

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/us/politics/in-congress-gridlock-and-harsh-consequences.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=politics

Congress returns on Monday with a major overhaul of immigration pending in the House, the farm bill lying in a heap and new fiscal deadlines looming when the government runs out of spending authority on Sept. 30 and reaches its borrowing limit shortly thereafter. The Postal Service, meanwhile, continues to lose millions of dollars every day as a measure to rescue the agency founders in the House.

There is no guarantee that any of these issues will be dealt with.

Even in some of the worst years of partisan gridlock, a deadline has meant something to Congress — until 2013. Drop-dead dates have come and gone this year, causing real-world consequences. On Jan. 1, tax rates went up not only for affluent families, but also for virtually all workers when lawmakers looked the other way and let a payroll tax cut expire. On March 1, after leaders from both parties declared that automatic, across-the-board spending cuts would never happen, they happened anyway because of inaction.

“One hundred percent of Congress opposed it, and we’re doing it,” said Representative Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont. “That’s a sign of a dysfunctional institution.”

At this time in 2011, Congress had passed 23 laws on the way toward the lowest total since those numbers began being tracked in 1948. This year, 15 have been passed so far.

15 laws. 15 laws in 2013 so far compared to the 23 laws passed at this same point in time in 2011.

:boom

WHAT THE :censored IS THIS CONGRESS DOING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!! :soapbox

jamesrage · Jul 10, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
a snapshot of how gridlocked our congress has become

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/us/politics/in-congress-gridlock-and-harsh-consequences.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=politics

15 laws. 15 laws in 2013 so far compared to the 23 laws passed at this same point in time in 2011.

:boom

WHAT THE :censored IS THIS CONGRESS DOING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!! :soapbox

The less laws they pass the better.

Unitedwestand13 · Jul 10, 2013

jamesrage said:
The less laws they pass the better.

i don't think so. people are suffering because of congress's inaction.

take what happened after the farm bill failed.

After last month’s unexpected collapse of the farm bill in the House, lawmakers were left with a new deadline, Sept. 30, to reach a deal before a series of farm programs go out of business, dairy prices skyrocket and direct payments to commodity farmers disappear.

But Mr. Vilsack said the consequences of Congress’s failure to pass a farm bill last year and this year were already real. A disaster-assistance program for livestock producers expired in October 2011. Since then, livestock producers hit by drought and rising feed costs have been liquidating and reducing herds to the point where American cattle stocks are at their lowest level since 1952.

In addition, dairy production is diminishing in the face of price and policy volatility. And in August, Brazil will get the green light to impose retaliatory tariffs on an array of American goods and services because Congress has not made the United States cotton program compliant with international trade law.

“The key here is for rural folks to say we’ve had enough of this,” Mr. Vilsack said. “Rural America deserves better than this.”

azgreg · Jul 10, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
WHAT THE :censored IS THIS CONGRESS DOING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!! :soapbox

Why don't you ask your buddy Harry Reid?

ttwtt78640 · Jul 10, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
a snapshot of how gridlocked our congress has become

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/us/politics/in-congress-gridlock-and-harsh-consequences.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=politics

15 laws. 15 laws in 2013 so far compared to the 23 laws passed at this same point in time in 2011.

:boom

WHAT THE :censored IS THIS CONGRESS DOING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!! :soapbox

Our congress critters have no problem getting re-elected, so long as that is the case then they have no problem. In policy polls our congress critters have an approval rating only slightly above a roadkill sandwich, yet the vast majority get re-elected. The sheeple are fat, lazy and content to keep their current congressional representative morons in power. You pay what you get for, when you let the tail wag the dog.

Unitedwestand13 · Jul 10, 2013

azgreg said:
Why don't you ask your buddy Harry Reid?

ttwtt78640 said:
Our congress critters have no problem getting re-elected, so long as that is the case then they have no problem. In policy polls our congress critters have an approval rating only slightly above a roadkill sandwich, yet the vast majority get re-elected. The sheeple are fat, lazy and content to keep their current congressional representative morons in power. You pay what you get for, when you let the tail wag the dog.

i actually believe in a government that functions properly and to the benefit of the people.

what congress is doing right now is hardly productive

After last month’s unexpected collapse of the farm bill in the House, lawmakers were left with a new deadline, Sept. 30, to reach a deal before a series of farm programs go out of business, dairy prices skyrocket and direct payments to commodity farmers disappear.

But Mr. Vilsack said the consequences of Congress’s failure to pass a farm bill last year and this year were already real. A disaster-assistance program for livestock producers expired in October 2011. Since then, livestock producers hit by drought and rising feed costs have been liquidating and reducing herds to the point where American cattle stocks are at their lowest level since 1952.

In addition, dairy production is diminishing in the face of price and policy volatility. And in August, Brazil will get the green light to impose retaliatory tariffs on an array of American goods and services because Congress has not made the United States cotton program compliant with international trade law.

“The key here is for rural folks to say we’ve had enough of this,” Mr. Vilsack said. “Rural America deserves better than this.”

ttwtt78640 · Jul 10, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
i actually believe in a government that functions properly and to the benefit of the people.

what congress is doing right now is hardly productive

The "farm bill" is 80% SNAP income redistribution and farmers are neither broke nor entitled to gov't income guarantees.

farmdocdaily: Farm Policy Background: Income of U.S. Farm vs. Nonfarm Population

Unitedwestand13 · Jul 11, 2013

ttwtt78640 said:
The "farm bill" is 80% SNAP income redistribution and farmers are neither broke nor entitled to gov't income guarantees.

farmdocdaily: Farm Policy Background: Income of U.S. Farm vs. Nonfarm Population

and what about the livestock producers who are suffering right now?

what about the dairy producers?

what about the fact that the brasilians are imposing tariffs on our goods and services because congress could not get our cotton program compliant with international trade law?

all those things i quoted earlier? those are consequences of having the most incompetent congress in recent history.

ttwtt78640 · Jul 11, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
and what about the livestock producers who are suffering right now?

what about the dairy producers?

what about the fact that the brasilians are imposing tariffs on our goods and services because congress could not get our cotton program compliant with international trade law?

all those things i quoted earlier? those are consequences of having the most incompetent congress in recent history.

Then it is clearly time to make ALL of these congress critters history. Yet, 92% that ran for re-election in 2012 won. Don't blame the few morons in DC, blame the many more morons that sent them there.

Unitedwestand13 · Jul 11, 2013

ttwtt78640 said:
Then it is clearly time to make ALL of these congress critters history.

it will be too late to fix the problems now if we wait until the next election.

THis gridlock has to stop. we have to convince the congress we have now to fix the problems we have now.

Linc · Jul 11, 2013

ttwtt78640 said:
Then it is clearly time to make ALL of these congress critters history. Yet, 92% that ran for re-election in 2012 won. Don't blame the few morons in DC, blame the many more morons that sent them there.

Blame the Gerry-mandering that needs to be undone in the 43 state's with more than one Rep. Oops, that would require a Constitutional change. We can't have that. And so you get to keep your 27--9 remap in Texas, though your state is certainly not even close to that for D vs. R voting.

ttwtt78640 · Jul 11, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
it will be too late to fix the problems now if we wait until the next election.

THis gridlock has to stop. we have to convince the congress we have now to fix the problems we have now.

Nonsense, we have our wonderful leader Obama in charge of that. The great teleprompter guru, our campaigner in chief, he will just have to learn how to be an executive, or at least how to organize the congressional community.

Unitedwestand13 · Jul 11, 2013

ttwtt78640 said:
Nonsense, we have our wonderful leader Obama in charge of that. The great teleprompter guru, our campaigner in chief, he will just have to learn how to be an executive, or at least how to organize the congressional community.

to effectively govern obama needs to have a congress that is at least capable of functioning in order to pass laws. without congress the executive is powerless to act on its own.

Besides how on earth are you suposed to govern if one political ideology is demanding the other's unconditional surrender?

ttwtt78640 · Jul 11, 2013

NIMBY said:
Blame the Gerry-mandering that needs to be undone in the 43 state's with more than one Rep. Oops, that would require a Constitutional change. We can't have that. And so you get to keep your 27--9 remap in Texas, though your state is certainly not even close to that for D vs. R voting.

Federal control of election laws is already in the constitution. Reading is for the mental, I mean fundamental.

Section 4: Congressional elections[edit]

Clause 1: Time, place, and manner of holding[edit]The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing [sic] Senators.
This clause generally commits to the States the authority to determine the "times, places and manner of holding elections," which includes the preliminary stages of the election process (such as a primary election), while reserving to Congress the authority to preempt State regulations with uniform national rules.[45] Congress has exercised this authority to determine a uniform date for federal elections: the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.[46]

Because Congress has not enacted any on-point regulations, States still retain the authority to regulate the dates on which other aspects of the election process are held (registration, primary elections, etc.) and where elections will be held. As for regulating the "manner" of elections, the Supreme Court has interpreted this to mean "matters like notices, registration, supervision of voting, protection of voters, prevention of fraud and corrupt practices, counting of votes, duties of inspectors and canvassers, and making and publication of election returns."[47] The Supreme Court has held that States may not exercise their power to determine the "manner" of holding elections to impose term limits on their congressional delegation.[28]

One of the most significant ways that States regulate the "manner" of elections is their power to draw election districts. Although in theory Congress could draw the district map for each State,[48] it has not exercised this level of oversight. Congress has, however, required the States to conform to certain practices when drawing districts. States are currently required to use a single-member district scheme, whereby the State is divided into as many election districts for Representatives in the House of Representatives as the size of its representation in that body (that is to say, Representatives cannot be elected at-large from the whole State unless the State has only one Representative in the House, nor can districts elect more than 1 Representative).[49]

Article One of the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ttwtt78640 · Jul 11, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
to effectively govern obama needs to have a congress that is at least capable of functioning in order to pass laws. without congress the executive is powerless to act on its own.

Besides how on earth are you suposed to govern if one political ideology is demanding the other's unconditional surrender?

Reagan and Clinton did it. It is not my fault that Obama is in way over his head. Which party rammed through PPACA, aka ObamaCare, and now says that it was really just "guidelines" that the president may alter the "details" of as he sees fit? Don't toss stones in that glass house of yours.

Linc · Jul 11, 2013

ttwtt78640 said:
Federal control of election laws is already in the constitution. Reading is for the mental, I mean fundamental.

Article One of the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But no discussion of my point, Gerry-mandering causing what you complained of, 92% of Reps reelected.

iguanaman · Jul 11, 2013

ttwtt78640 said:
Our congress critters have no problem getting re-elected, so long as that is the case then they have no problem. In policy polls our congress critters have an approval rating only slightly above a roadkill sandwich, yet the vast majority get re-elected. The sheeple are fat, lazy and content to keep their current congressional representative morons in power. You pay what you get for, when you let the tail wag the dog.

So you are voting for the Democrats in your State elections right? Otherwise you would be the pot calling the kettle black.

ttwtt78640 · Jul 11, 2013

iguanaman said:
So you are voting for the Democrats in your State elections right? Otherwise you would be the pot calling the kettle black.

Texas has a new Senator, Ted Cruz, as of 2012, and 9 new House members - how about your state?

Mr. Invisible · Jul 11, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
a snapshot of how gridlocked our congress has become

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/us/politics/in-congress-gridlock-and-harsh-consequences.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=politics

15 laws. 15 laws in 2013 so far compared to the 23 laws passed at this same point in time in 2011.

:boom

WHAT THE :censored IS THIS CONGRESS DOING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!! :soapbox

Are you seriously asking what the dysfunctional institution is going to do to fix itself? How does that make any sense?

Drake McHugh · Jul 11, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
a snapshot of how gridlocked our congress has become

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/us/politics/in-congress-gridlock-and-harsh-consequences.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=politics

15 laws. 15 laws in 2013 so far compared to the 23 laws passed at this same point in time in 2011.

:boom

WHAT THE :censored IS THIS CONGRESS DOING TO FIX THIS!!!!!!! :soapbox

So passing legislation is a sign of progress? What if it's bad legislation?

Heebie Jeebie · Jul 11, 2013

There are so many laws on the books no one can even count them. Why do we need to judge Congress by how many new ones they pass?

"There is no one in the United States over the age of 18 who cannot be indicted for some federal crime," said John Baker, a retired Louisiana State University law professor who has also tried counting the number of new federal crimes created in recent years. "That is not an exaggeration."

The Many Failed Efforts to Count Nation's Federal Criminal Laws - WSJ.com

trfjr · Jul 11, 2013

15 bills the House passed, but Reid refuses to schedule for votes

Here are the 15 bills sitting on Harry Reid's desk because he can't bring himself to schedule them for a vote in the Senate. God forbid they should pass... that would put Obama in the untenable position of either signing REPUBLICAN legislation (can't have that, now can we?) or vetoing REPUBLICAN measures that could help to improve the jobs picture in this country. Either way, Obama would lose. The fact that these measures would help this country, well, who really gives a ****, right?

H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act

The bill would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to clarify that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state may not require a permit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for the application of pesticides regulated under FIFRA. The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act would ensure that pesticide users are not faced with unnecessary regulations that harm job growth.

H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act

The bill would strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its ability to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. Without this legislation, the agency will continue with its plan to implement burdensome new rules and regulations on American businesses that will have a significant negative impact on America’s economy while having virtually no positive impact on global temperatures.

H. J. Res. 37, Disapproval of FCC’s Net Neutrality Act

H.J. Res 37 would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from imposing net neutrality regulations on Internet providers. Net neutrality is likely to cripple competition, restrict innovation, reduce employment and raise costs for all consumers—all of which would only exacerbate the current economic downturn. These job-killing regulations would involve significant new controls on the Internet that would have significant implications for investing in innovation and broadband deployment.

H.R. 2018, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act

The bill would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to preserve the authority of each State to make determinations relating to the State's water quality standards. This would reduce the federal government’s power over individual state’s water quality standards to help increase job growth.

H.R. 1315, Consumer Financial Protection & Soundness Improvement Act

This bill is will amend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to strengthen the review authority of the Financial Stability Oversight Council of regulations issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The increased accountability will help to prevent harmful job-killing regulations.

H.R. 2587, Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act

The bill would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from ordering any employer to close, relocate or transfer employment under any circumstance. Federal bureaucrats should not be reversing the business decisions of private employers. Washington already has too many harmful regulations that hurt job growth. The Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act would help ensure that the government agency does not over step their bounds by dictating decisions made by private sector companies.

H.R. 2401, Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN ACT)

The TRAIN Act would establish an 11-member committee, chaired by the Department of Commerce, to analyze the impacts of a number of major Environment Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. The agency often understates the negative impact its rules will have on jobs and energy prices. This is why we need a committee whose sole purpose is to analyze the cumulative impacts of EPA regulations. The TRAIN Act would push back against the EPA's unconstitutional, outrageous rules and regulations that raise energy prices for consumers, destroy jobs and increase our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

H.R. 2681, Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act

The bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations from coming into effect which would place burdensome regulations on the cement industry. The cement industry estimates that the rule could destroy as many as 4,000 jobs. The Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act would stop the unnecessary cement MACT rule which will cost thousands of jobs and hamper economic growth.

H.R. 2250, EPA Regulatory Relief Act

The bill would help to curtail the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Boiler MACT regulations on boilers and industrial incinerators. The Council of Industrial Boiler Owners estimates that the regulations will cost 244,000 jobs. The EPA Regulatory Relief Act would help to roll back unreasonable regulations and save thousands of American jobs

.

H.R. 2273, Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act

The bill would prohibit the EPA from regulating coal ash as a toxic waste in any state which prefers to develop its own plans in that regard. This bill would further slow the EPA’s Regulatory Trainwreck and could save thousands of jobs in coal-rich states such as West Virginia and Ohio.

H.R. 1230, Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act

The Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act (H.R. 1230) would establish statutory deadlines for sales of certain oil and gas leases in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would reduce net direct spending by $25 million over the 2011-2016 period and about $40 million over the 2011-2021 period. Restarting offshore leasing will help restore thousands of jobs.

H.R. 1229, Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act

The bill would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico. The Obama administration has delayed or canceled offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill would jump start offshore oil drilling by implementing a 30-day deadline in which the secretary of the U.S. Interior Department would have to make a decision on the Gulf of Mexico drilling permit applications. The bill would likely help to create tens of thousands of jobs and strengthen the economy.

H.R. 1231, Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act

The bill would reverse President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act and amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources and would establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal. Reversing the offshore moratoriums will help restore thousands of jobs.

H.R. 2021, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011

The bill would eliminate needless permitting delays that have stalled important energy production opportunities off the coast of Alaska. Rather than having exploration air permits repeatedly approved and rescinded by the agency and its review board, the EPA will be required to take final action – granting or denying a permit – within six months. The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011 would speed up the permit process to help create jobs.

H.R. 1938, North American-Made Energy Security Act

The bill would require the President to issue a final order granting or denying the Presidential Permit for Keystone XL 30 days after the issuance of the final environmental impact statement, but in no event later than November 1, 2011. A Canadian pipeline company, TransCanada, has long sought to increase the capacity of its Keystone pipeline system in order to bring more Canadian crude oil to American refineries. The North American-Made Energy Security Act would boost jobs and lower the price of gasoline for all Americans

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fmw · Jul 11, 2013

Unitedwestand13 said:
it will be too late to fix the problems now if we wait until the next election.

THis gridlock has to stop. we have to convince the congress we have now to fix the problems we have now.

I love gridlock. It is the only thing we have left to protect ourselves from government since we can't have single term limits. I can only hope the gridlock gets worse. That last place you want problems fixed is the US Congress.

fmw · Jul 11, 2013

Heebie Jeebie said:
There are so many laws on the books no one can even count them. Why do we need to judge Congress by how many new ones they pass?

"There is no one in the United States over the age of 18 who cannot be indicted for some federal crime," said John Baker, a retired Louisiana State University law professor who has also tried counting the number of new federal crimes created in recent years. "That is not an exaggeration."

The Many Failed Efforts to Count Nation's Federal Criminal Laws - WSJ.com

I'm sure I break laws every day. I just don't know which ones. I'm long past caring.

DVSentinel · Jul 11, 2013

I have to agree with others on several points.

Grid lock is not necessarily bad, as it protects us from one side passing burdensome, unnecessary and damaging laws. The Dems have not, since first taking control of the Senate in 2007, offered up a single law that would help job growth and reduce spending debt in any realistic fashion. They have however proposed many, many laws that would damage business and growth. We have no real idea of what the Reps would/could do as they are hampered by trying to stave off the lunatic fringe of the left while showing signs of severe fracturing within their own ranks.

It is not only the fault of the people in congress, it is more the fault of the people who put them in congress. What we are seeing is the inevitable results of open representative democracy when the ignorant, stupid and selfish are given the ability to vote their ignorance, stupidity and selfishness with absolutely no balance to their power.

New York times times: in congress gridlock and harsh consequnces

Unitedwestand13

jamesrage

Unitedwestand13

azgreg

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ttwtt78640

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Unitedwestand13

ttwtt78640

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Unitedwestand13

ttwtt78640

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Unitedwestand13

Linc

NIMBY

ttwtt78640

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Unitedwestand13

ttwtt78640

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ttwtt78640

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Linc

NIMBY

iguanaman

ttwtt78640

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Mr. Invisible

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Heebie Jeebie

trfjr

fmw

fmw

DVSentinel

New York times times: in congress gridlock and harsh consequnces

Chicks dig the long ball

Sometimes wrong

Sometimes wrong

Sometimes wrong

NIMBY

Sometimes wrong

Sometimes wrong

Sometimes wrong

NIMBY

Sometimes wrong

A Man Without A Country

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