Democrats Break Work-Week Promise
by Big Dog on Dec 4, 2007 at 20:21 Political
The Democrats promised that they would work 5 days a week and that they would do more than the do-nothing Republicans. They started out like a ball of fire and worked nearly 5 full days while members from both parties complained about not being home (here is a clue. If you don’t like it get out). Then the work weeks started slipping and poof, they are gone. Next year the Democratically controlled Congress will only work a few 5 day weeks and they will be off for about 2 weeks every time a holiday pops up and of course, they will be off the entire month of August. I know that it is tough working all those days in DC when they have families and constituents at home but they are the ones who said they would do it.
As for this idea being floated around that they did more than the Republican led Congresses ever did, it is hogwash. They might have been there more days than when the Republicans are in charge but they have not done much of anything. They have not passed a budget and it is months overdue. Their irresponsibility will soon cause government workers to be furloughed (no one from Congress will miss a paycheck though) and our military will not have the things they need to fight the war. The Democrats have not done anything about the Alternative Minimum Tax which will bite a lot of people it was never intended to touch. The Democrats did pass a minimum wage increase by adding it to a DEFENSE bill and they have been pretty good at naming post offices. Other than that, they have done little.
I realize that it is hard for these folks to be away from their home districts and that it causes them problems. I have no sympathy for them because they ran for office of their own free will and if it were actually as terrible as they make it seem they would not keep running. Fact is, they keep running because they have a lot of power and do very little to earn a paycheck. Our military, on the other hand, has to be away from their families for a very long time and they are in constant danger and they sure as hell do not make anywhere near as much money as a member of Congress. However, there is no excuse for the members of Congress to get 2 weeks off every time a holiday rolls around and they certainly do not need the entire month of August off. They say they are working in their districts but it seems to me that their districts are not in Iraq, Israel, Syria or other places that they trek off to. Those who stay in their districts have a strange way of working. Must be difficult to get things done while standing on skis or sailing in a boat.
However, there is a solution to this. A commenter at The Politico mentioned it and I had thought of it before. Why do these people need to be in DC to do their jobs. We have some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world. Certainly they should be able to cast votes from their district offices. Congress could be in DC for two weeks (including the weekends) and then be in their districts for the next two. They can work on the committee stuff while in DC and their staff can put it all together. They can hold confirmation hearings and other things that require them all to be there at that time. Then, they can go home and work in their district offices where they would be in communication with other members when votes were taken. I am sure that it could be set up so they could vote electronically and I know it could be done via roll call.
They should use modern technology to alleviate the burden, and cost, of traveling all over the country. This would also ensure they are actually working during the 2 week holiday breaks and would negate the need to have all of August off. It would also put the members of Congress with their constituents instead of DC with the lobbyists. This would allow the people who the members should be listening to greater access and curb the access that lobbyists currently enjoy. It is not necessary for them to be in DC all the time they spend there and it is a waste of money to let them have off all the time. The rest of us have to go to work everyday or we don’t get paid.
There is one thing that the Democrats have shown with their latest work schedule. This country needs a smaller, less intrusive government. The work schedule shows that they believe they do not need to work more than a few hundred days a year and that they can take off a lot. Surely, they are showing we do not need them all the time and that a part time government would be satisfactory.
In any event, the Democrats broke the promise they made. I don’t care about all the circumstances, they made the promise. They knew they could not (or would not) keep it but they made it anyway. Seems the donks have broken a lot of promises this past year.
Is anyone surprised?
As an aside, since they are late with the budget and have not fixed the AMT shouldn’t we be able to file our taxes later this year? If they don’t have to do anything on time, why should we?
Tags: broken promises, Congress, Democrats, taxes, work week