Congress is Not Doing Its Job

Member Group : Jerry Shenk

In establishing a legislature as one of three branches of America’s government, the United States Constitution assigned the Congress specific, enumerated responsibilities.

Recently, Congress has neglected its constitutional assignments and, in important ways, undone the Founders’ intent.

At minimum, elected members of Congress owe constituents their judgment. It is unacceptable that the only “judgment” many members apply to legislation is that they need not read bills before voting on them. This shows very poor judgment, indeed, but it’s a common practice among members who allow caucus leadership or, worse, unelected, unaccountable staffers and lobbyists to write and review legislation.

Congressional Democrats, all of whom voted for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a handout allegedly passed to provide a COVID “stimulus,” are rattled by the failure of their massive bill to do much of anything other than idle workers and stimulate inflation. Only those Democrats who never read the bill (i.e., all of them), and didn’t take or slept through Economics 101 are surprised.

Millions abandoned the work force after the stimulus was passed, many from the jobs and businesses Democrats promised the bill would stimulate. In short, by handing out “free money,” a Democrat-controlled government gave once-willing workers incentive to remain idle.

Arguably the worst example of the Congress’s abdication of its responsibilities is allowing the executive branch to do its job.

Congress was designed to provide a check on and balance to executive branch powers. Nonetheless, during his first three weeks in the White House, President(ish) Joe Biden issued more than fifty executive orders.

Among them, Biden ordered a moratorium on deportations, and an end to “harsh and extreme immigration enforcement.” In other words, he violated his oath of office by refusing to enforce the duly-enacted laws regulating America’s border security. One eliminated the “Remain in Mexico” program to “restore” the U.S. asylum system, and initiated a “refugee resettlement program” over which the administration assumes states and local communities will have no control.

Biden ordered that “undocumented immigrants” (read: illegal aliens) be “documented” (ironic, huh?) in the U.S. Census, an accounting that allocates seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and (extra-legal) federal tax money to jurisdictions hosting illegals.

Biden canceled oil and gas leasing on/in U.S. lands/waters, and revoked permits for the partially-built Keystone XL pipeline, a private sector project.

Many of Biden’s orders violated, ignored or revised statutory laws without the formal concurrence of the legislature tasked with writing them.

In the same three weeks, while preoccupied with a preposterous second partisan impeachment of a former president, the U.S. Congress passed…exactly…nothing – while registering no objections to a new president encroaching on its constitutional responsibilities.

Congress generally remains silent on the activities of executive branch “regulatory” agencies, as well.

Government costs Americans far more than the taxes we pay, because taxes do not include the costs of regulatory compliance built into the prices of goods and services consumers and businesses pay.

Regulations assume the same authority as legislation, but without congressional review or approval. The Biden administration has regulators working overtime, while a dysfunctional Congress looks the other way.

Not only do regulations create artificial inflation by increasing the costs of the products Americans purchase, the business resources necessary for compliance eventually elbow out actual production.

Regulatory costs are de facto taxes on consumers, a drag on the national economy, and, because they impact households and small businesses, regulations undermine families and local economies as well.

A responsible Congress would defend its constitutional prerogatives and exercise its enumerated powers, including reining in out-of-control executives, and exercising oversight of, even defunding agencies that have created America’s expensive, oppressive regulatory state.

Frankly, if congressional Democrats allow the executive branch to force feed policy they cannot pass in a Congress they control, they are neglecting the body’s primary duties.

If their members don’t read bills, have the intelligence – or the independence – to do their jobs responsibly, they don’t deserve their offices.

Members who allow party leadership and the executive branch to do their jobs ignore their responsibilities, cheat their constituents, enable lousy governance, and, ultimately, delegitimize Congress.

Anyone who thinks this is how constitutional government is supposed to work has no business in government.

Americans deserve responsible – accountable – lawmakers.

Washington is overdue for a House cleaning. The Senate needs cleansing, too.

https://www.pottsmerc.com/2022/03/28/jerry-shenk-congress-is-not-doing-its-job/