The Wasteland

David Drucker looks at the accomplishments of the Democrat-led Congress to date and forecasts the future progress expected in an election year. In short, if you think Congress has done nothing useful this year, just wait until 2008.

Just another week in the legislative wasteland – these unprecedented two years when a timid Congress and a neutered president appear unable or unwilling to act until the election. With both parties frightened to take any political risks, virtually every major piece of legislation has been put on hold or sidetracked.

“I have assumed that the most difficult political issues will not be raised next year," Assistant U.S. Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin said late last week, speaking to reporters just off the Senate floor. “There may be a few exceptions, but by and large the biggest issues will not come up in a campaign year. It's just not a good environment for productive work."

Bush, in a meeting with journalists last week, chastised Congress for not sending him more bills, particularly a renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act.

“One of Congress' basic duties is to fund the day-to-day operations of the federal government," Bush said. “Yet Congress has not sent me a single appropriations bill."

The president also mentioned free trade agreements with countries such as Peru and Colombia, mortgage reforms and care for veterans as languishing legislation. That's beside big-picture reforms, on issues such as immigration, Iraq and Social Security and Medicare. Or addressing tax issues like fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax and making permanent many of the president's tax cuts that passed during his first term but are due to sunset in the next few years.

In many cases, bills haven't even been brought to committee – ideas are stuck in the drafting stage as party leadership decides what's best to pursue.

As for appropriations, the basic laws that fund government, Congress has sent none of its 12 bills to the president. Not that it matters: He's threatened to veto 10 of them.

Drucker is not kind to either party, but he especially points out that the gridlock in the Senate is exacerbated by the routine absence of a number of presidential contenders. The outlook for 2008 is even worse. In fact, it looks a lot like this: