As the Washington Watch goes to press, Congress has passed 55-laws; and with only a few days left before the end of the year, the 113th Congress will certainly go down as the least productive in history. Even the infamous Do-Nothing Congress of 1948 did more. Hyper-partisanship is gumming up the bulk of laws. Most of the laws passed have dealt with naming government buildings, land tracks, and post offices. The House has passed 308 bills and the Senate has passed 289, but the differences are so great few believe they can be reconciled into final law
The good news is that for the first time in four to five years there is no critical edge of the cliff crisis that threatens the economy. In addition, by putting the brakes on tougher laws and regulations, small businesses may actually have benefited by the inaction.
The House and Senate are in the conference on a Budget Resolution, which is expected to go to the floor of each Chamber on December 13. It would be the first Budget Resolution for several years. The House of Representatives is then scheduled to recess for the remaining of the year for the Christmas holiday. The Senate wants to approve several judge appointments and will be in session until December 20. Given the partisanship, budget negotiators have focused on as few trades-offs as possible to reach an agreement by addressing some relief from sequestration, especially for the Department of Defense, in exchange for small savings from entitlements. Many marine retailers remain concerned about the lack of progress in Congress on reducing the budget and the complications of federal regulations. Marine retailers believe there are too many bad laws that should be repealed off the books.
Passing laws is not the only duty of Congress. Members help constituents navigate the federal bureaucracy, assist with visas and passports, and act as a watchdog for the executive branch and federal spending.
