Congress is ending what may be its
least productive year on record after government shutdown
threats, the collapse of debt-reduction talks and little action
to fix the worst U.S. economy since the Great Depression.
Just 62 bills were signed into law through November this
year, meaning that 2011 may fall short of the 88 laws enacted in
1995, the lowest number since the Congressional Record began
keeping an annual tally in 1947. In 1995, as in this year, a new
House Republican majority fought a Democratic president’s
agenda.
This year’s partisan battles have brought the U.S. to the
brink of a government shutdown four times, caused a two-week
furlough of Federal Aviation Administration workers and led
Standard Poor’s to lower the nation’s credit rating after it
said lawmakers didn’t do enough to reduce the federal deficit.
“It’s been one of the worst Congresses in modern
history,” said Representative Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat.
“We have failed to meet our minimum standards of competency and
endangered America’s credit rating. We have failed to pass key
legislation on time. And there is very little hope for improved
behavior.”
Voter approval ratings for Congress are at record lows.
Republicans, ranked
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