Time to Convene the Do Nothing Congress

Having survived a torturous process and passed legislation that raises America's debt ceiling, Congress has decided to go on vacation. One problem: the debt ceiling nightmare pushed nearly all other important work to the back burner and Congress recessed before accomplishing some important matters such as continue funding the Federal Aviation Administration. So because of yet another political stalemate, Congress went home and their negligence has left 74,000 FAA workers out of work--not exactly a stimulus to the sagging economy.

There is one thing that one person could attempt to do about all this: President Obama has the constitutional authority to order Congress back to town to deal with this issue. According to Article II, Section III, of the U.S. Constitution, the President "may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses." The partial shutdown of the FAA would certainly qualify as an "extraordinary occasion" which potentially puts public safety and the health of the economy at risk.

Convening Congress via the extraordinary occasions clause has not been done since 1948 when Harry Truman ordered the do-nothing 80th Congress back to Washington to deal with the issues of the day--a tactic many credit with allowing Truman to embarrass Congress and win a close reelection. Truman had it right and today's 112th Congress can similarly be described as do-nothing. It is time for this President to act boldly, especially when many Americans, his base most of all, view this President as too willing to capitulate to his political enemies. This President should bring Congress back to town and keep them there until they carry out their responsibility and fund the FAA.

Big Bad Oil?

Politico Arena Topic: Are Oil Companies the Bad Guys?

Do oil companies deserve a Capitol Hill grilling? Talk about low-hanging fruit. Americans are pumping fuel into their cars at over $4 a gallon at the same time that oil companies are scoring record profits. All this while the country’s slow recovery may succumb to inflation.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure there is not a lot of love out there for oil companies and their executives who are about as popular as Charlie Sheen at a NOW conference. They are a bogeyman for a reason—Americans don’t mind profits, even big profits, but are turned off by greed. Especially when that greed is encouraged through corporate welfare.

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2011 Feels Like 1995

I have recently been added to the list of "players" for Politico's Arena. I will attempt to republish my comments here. Below is the first.

Politico Arena Topic: Government Shutdown-Who Wins Who Loses?

2011 feels an awful lot like 1995. In 1995, you had a Democratic president who had lost unified party control over Congress and was now on the defensive with a resurgent Republican Party riding the wave of a “revolution” to take the government back. Many observers viewed President Clinton as a one-term, failed president, and the presidency itself as “irrelevant.” Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich, riding high from his victory and new found fame, called Clinton’s bluff on the budget and the federal government shutdown - twice. We all know how things turned out - the Clinton White House turned the shutdown into a public relations victory and knocked Gingrich off his pedestal. Clinton sailed to reelection. Gingrich never recovered politically and resigned after his party lost seats in the 1998 midterm election.

We are now several months into the FY2011 budget calendar as the federal government has been operating because of temporary spending bills since October. The latest continuing resolution (CR) is set to expire March 4 and if Congress and the president cannot agree on a new CR, the U.S. is headed for a replay of the events of 1995. Like Bill Clinton before him, President Obama’s Democratic Party got a shellacking in the 2010 midterms, losing control of the House of Representatives. But from the very start of his presidency, Obama has talked the talk of civility and working together with the other party, often extending the hand of cooperation only to have it slapped away. With the GOP now in control of the House, there is an expectation by the public that both parties work together to solve the nation’s great problems. When Obama released his FY2012 budget last week, it was immediately greeted with jeers by Republican leaders and members saying it was “dead on arrival.”

If the federal government shuts down next week, basic services such as the issuing of military veterans’ benefits checks and passports will cease, national parks and museums will be closed, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be forced to stay home. The Obama White House will be able to point to Republicans and their tea party members who openly reject the entire notion of negotiation and compromise, and claim that Republicans are responsible for the mess. And a majority of the public will likely agree.

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