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Early in the year, the economy seemed to be gathering momentum. In February, it added 220,000 jobs. In March, it added 246,000 jobs. In April, 251,000 jobs. But as markets began to take the Republican threats on the debt ceiling more seriously, the economy sputtered. Between May and August, the nation never added more than 100,000 jobs a month. And then, in September, the month after the debt ceiling was resolved, the economy sped back up and added more than 200,000 jobs. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-
why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/

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“the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges.”

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Remember the seven week break for the elections? The one that followed Congress’ five week summer break? At $3,480 per week for seven weeks, taxpayers paid $13,032,600 for just one recess, not including staff and benefits. The five week summer break tacked on another $9,390,000. So we paid more than $20,000,000 for Congress not to work for most of the summer and fall, not including federal holidays and the like. What’s an extra half million? http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/12/30/congress-hasnt
-fixed-the-budget-yet-getting-a-raise-anyway/

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The federal government guarantees a minimum price for dairy under the Farm Bill, a bundle of food regulations including food stamps, crop subsidies, insurance, rural development, research and land conservation passed by Congress every five years. But since the 2008 Farm Bill expired September 30, and with Washington deadlocked on a temporary resolution, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is poised to revert to a 1949 law that would double the guaranteed rate for dairy products, leaving retailers with higher costs to pass onto consumers. Excerp0t from http://swampland.time.com/2012/12/21/creamed-by-congress-farm-bill-ina
ction-may-mean-higher-dairy-prices/]
Just today, they reached a compromise that will keep the country from the so-called “milk cliff.” The deal still has to be approved by both the Senate and the House. Whose putting money on its passing?

Congress also hasn't gotten appropriations done on time. To be fair, they’re not the first Congress to fail to pass the required appropriations bills by the deadline. But most congresses manage to approve at least a few of them. In fact, the average is three. So how many appropriations bills did the 112th Congress pass by October 1, 2011? Zero.

Then there's

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Surface transportation bills are where Congress deals with another of the most fundamental jobs of federal governance: Setting aside money for roads, runways, bridges, and subways systems, and other mainstays of our transportation infrastructure. Sen. Dick Durbin called them “the easiest bill[s] to do on Capitol Hill.’ At least, they used to be.

In 2005, Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act. That bill expired in September 2009. But Congress couldn’t agree on a replacement. What followed were 10 short-term extensions of the transportation funding. “Stopgaps,” in congressional parlance.

Finally, on June 29 of this year, Congress passed the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. But rather than setting transportation policy for four or five years, as was the previous norm, it only set it for two years. And it left most of the major problems — like how to handle the the increasing inadequacy of the gas tax — for later. Excerpts from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-
why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/

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How about the Federal Aviation Administration? House Republicans wanted to cut $16.5 million in subsidies to rural airports and to rewrite the rules around unionizing airports such that workers who didn’t vote would be counted as “no” votes. Senate Democrats disagreed. On July 23, 2011, Congress ran out of time. That meant, in the midst of a severely depressed economy, 4,000 FAA workers and 70,000 airport construction workers were furloughed. The shutdown ended a few weeks earlier. The cost to the government from uncollected airline ticket taxes alone was $350 million.

How about some truly insane obstructionism?

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For most of the last six years, the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors has been missing a few members. There’s plenty of blame to go around here — including for the Obama administration, which was slow to name nominees and didn’t prioritize their confirmation when Democrats controlled Congress — but the most ridiculous chapter of the story began in 2011, when Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, blocked the appointment of MIT economist and Nobel prize in economics winner Peter Diamond.

Shelby wanted payback for Democrats blocking one of George W. Bush’s nominees in 2007! The problem was he couldn’t come out and say that. Instead, he had to say this: “I do not believe he’s ready to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board. I do not believe that the current environment of uncertainty would benefit from monetary policy decisions made by board members who are learning on the job.” Eventually the nomination had to be withdrawn.Excerpt from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-
why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/

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All that, because of PIQUE!

Congress hasn’t passed legislation that would keep millions more Americans from paying the alternative minimum tax this year and would extend other tax credits and deductions for 2012 tax returns as lawmakers have done in years past.

So. On January 3rd, the new Congress comes into power. That means the legislative process must start over and all bills proposed or awaiting action will die. All that work...disappears. What's important but wasn't passed has to be put forward again; the things that were ignored will have to be brought to the floor; and the Republicans have pretty much stated openly that they will continue to be as obstructive as they have been for the last four years.

Our government doesn't function. Period.
A portion of the Republican legislators in Congress are even more dysfunctional. You can't work to improve the country by being nothing but obstructive, much as the TPers would like to believe that. There are things the government NEEDS to do; ignoring them or opposing them is just behaving like 5 year olds.

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Zombie Lie: That Dems "Failed" to Pass Budget - NO, GOP Senators BLOCKED IT

All day long I've been hearing this Republican Talking point that the current budget impasse is the fault of the Dems because they "Failed to Pass a Budget for FY2010".

Do they think everyone is a member of the C.R.A.F.T. (Can't Remember A Fucking Thing) Club?

It was only 3 Months Ago when Everything, Absolutely Everything was blocked in the Senate unless the Bush Tax Kick-Backs were extended.

Do they really think we're this dumb?

Furthermore the GOP Senators Specifically Blocked the 2010 Omnibus Spending BIll. That's the Bill the Republicans are now screaming at the top of their lungs that Democrats Didn't Pass.

That Bill had been working it's way through both Houses of Congress for months, but then was stopped dead in November by Republicans, then functionally Killed in December when they began making their "Cut the Taxes or the Kitty Gets It" demands.

And now they say this is all the Democrats fault?

Really?

Sorry, some of of are NOT that Stupid. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/07/964278/-Zombie-Lie-That-Dems-
Failed-to-Pass-Budget-NO-GOP-Senators-BLOCKED-IT#

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