In the real world (that means outside of Washington, DC) productivity is measured by comparing the output received to the effort/cost expending to produce something or perform a task. Or, as the dictionary describes it "rate of output per unit of input".
So far, the House of Representatives this year has taken over 1,000 separate votes which has surpassed the most recorded votes ever in the history of Congress. We also have been "in session" voting for 146 days so far, which is also headed to a record number of days in Washington, DC. So, that's the input.
But what about the output? So far, only 107 bills have been signed into law. Over half of these were either naming something (like a post office) or extending an existing law that was scheduled to expire. several more were simple land transfers from government to government. National Review has suggested that has been only one piece of legislation of any significance that has passed and been signed into law which was the increase in the minimum wage. This Congress is on track to pass the fewest bills since electronic records have been kept. Furthermore, Congress has failed to send a single appropriations (budget/spending) bill to the President after a full month into the fiscal year. The is the first time Congress has failed to do so since 1987.
So, arguably, this Congress has been the least productive Congress ever. After all, we have been in Washington the longest and voted the most while producing record low output. And they can't blame this on having a different party control Congress and the White House as that has been the case much of the time in the past.
By far the least effective Congress ever.......and I'm so proud to be a part of it.......not!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member