, Columnist
Nostalgia for the ‘Do-Nothing’ Congress
This article is for subscribers only.
This congressional session is historic: It’s the least productive, most unpopular in memory, and makes the 80th Congress, famously labeled “do nothing” by President Harry Truman, appear prolific.
For the first time, public approval of Congress is below 10 percent. This session, which adjourns at the end of the week, has passed fewer bills than any session since World War II -- the recent deeply diluted budget measure a rare semi-significant exception -- and cheap political games have dominated.