What’s wrong with Congress?

Let me give you the tip of the ice berg.

We currently have 4000 employees of the FAA “furloughed” because Congress can’t agree upon an authorization bill for the FAA.  We told you a bit about this earlier, but, we are now learning more details.  The House of Representatives passed a bill last Wednesday that would have kept these people employed.  The Senate refuses to bring that bill to the Senate floor.  Actually, it is Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D. Nv.), that refuses to let it come to the floor.  And, in the Senate, what the Majority Leader says, controls.

Here is what Representative John Mica (R. Fl.), Chairman of the House Transportation Committee said on Monday:

If the Senate cannot agree to a simple provision, which it approved earlier this year, to eliminate excessive subsidies between $1,358 and $3,720 per ticket at three airports, then we don’t need to convene a conference meeting. 

Those 4,000 FAA employees have been furloughed so some in the Senate can protect their own political pork with airline ticket subsidies of more than $3,700 per passenger.  For example, subsidies are this exorbitant in Ely, Nevada for each of the 471 passengers flying in and out of the airport each year.  [emphasis supplied]

Other than Nevada, the other two airports that the Senate wants you to subsidize “belong” to Max Baucus (D. Mt.) and Jay Rockefeller (D. W.V.)

Of course, these subsidies, in the overall scheme of things, are fairly insignificant.  But, they are a very minor piece of the problem. 

Those in Congress seem to be more concerned about bringing “goodies” to their constituants, thus ensuring their own re-election, than they are about the health of the country.

During the election, politicians proclaim to care about you and what you believe.

After the election they care only about themselves.

Of course, each of you may well have a different answer to the above question.  Let us know.

 

Posted in ,

SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

25 Comments

  1. Tim-in-Alabama on July 27, 2011 at 12:16 am

    So very typical. Republicans passed legislation that put 4,000 people out of work through no fault of their own. Maybe this is what Ryan and Cantor and Boehner have in mind for the rest of the America. They’ll pay for Bush’s wars, but not Obama’s undeclared war or for the troops remaining in the Balkans from Clinton’s Operation Prevent Impeachment undeclared war, and pay for tax cuts for the rich and prescription drug plans for old people they really want to kill and …. er, huh… what was the original post about?



    • Dimsdale on July 27, 2011 at 7:53 am

      Ya gotta turn off the boob tube!? You are starting to sound like ?bama’s base! ? 😉



  2. winnie888 on July 27, 2011 at 7:30 am

    In answer to your question:? seemingly everything is wrong with congress, especially the democrats.? But that’s just me towing the republican party line, I guess.? Pulling harder!



  3. Dimsdale on July 27, 2011 at 7:55 am

    Three things come to mind: greed, hunger for power, incompetence and Democrats.? (yes, I used the Joe Biden accounting method!)
    ?
    I think the question “what isn’t wrong with Congress” would be a much shorter list!



  4. Lynn on July 27, 2011 at 8:10 am

    OK, I give up. My immediate answer was “What isn’t wrong with Congress” and Dims “stole it”. It’s getting scary we are beginning to think as ONE in RVO Land. No comment Sammy and Crystal.



  5. crystal4 on July 27, 2011 at 9:15 am

    “Those in Congress seem to be more concerned about bringing ?goodies? to their constituants, thus ensuring their own re-election, than they are about?the health of the country.”
    Correct! And true to form, 2 D’s are the example in the above post. However, they did not run on putting an end to “pork”, did they??
    “Republican freshmen have packed a huge $553 billion spending bill with millions of pet defense projects for their home districts.” (From the article below.)
    http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/40931



    • winnie888 on July 27, 2011 at 9:31 am

      “Those 4,000 FAA employees have been furloughed”

      The defense spending examples in the above article that you cited do not lead to furloughs or job losses, I’m guessing.? If anything, defense spending is likely to create jobs.? But we don’t want that, do we?



    • GdavidH on July 27, 2011 at 10:26 am

      Defense spending IS WHAT THE FEDERAL GOV”T SHOULD BE DOING!

      ?subsidizing??airline tickets or any other type of this nonsense…..not so much!?



    • crystal4 on July 27, 2011 at 10:39 am

      Caps are sooo rude!
      It’s not “pork” if the T Baggies are doing it, eh?
      How about the farm subsidies that allow some to live on the gov. dole?
      http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-hypocrisy-lawmakers-tea-party-ties-government/story?id=13259014



    • GdavidH on July 27, 2011 at 10:44 am

      Caps and bold letters!

      Just hoping you might actually see it.

      If you are going to use terms like T baggies you are here only to be a problem and push the dem talking points. That= troll???



    • Dimsdale on July 27, 2011 at 5:46 pm

      So, if you don’t “run on putting an end to pork”, you can do as you please?? Interesting.
      ?
      Can we call these the “airports to nowhere”?



  6. Plainvillian on July 27, 2011 at 9:31 am

    Electoral recidivism.



  7. Lynn on July 27, 2011 at 10:25 am

    The Constitution says that the Govt. should provide for Defense. So, as long as the Pentagon is not packing with pork, I say anything for our troops and new technology. People don’t understand jobs are created by Defense. I have two friends who make uniforms for or troops. Kevlar vests, guns, ammunition, parts for tanks on and on are produced by small businesses.
    Of course Pv, just answered the above question in 2 words.



  8. crystal4 on July 27, 2011 at 10:49 am

    Sorry, responding to all the times I saw ‘dumbocrats” and libtards” here…should not have reduced myself to that level.



    • winnie888 on July 27, 2011 at 11:31 am

      And yet you did.? Interesting.



  9. crystal4 on July 27, 2011 at 11:38 am

    Yeah, getting corrupted. Gotta stay outta here.



    • Tim-in-Alabama on July 28, 2011 at 11:53 am

      Good idea.



  10. sammy22 on July 27, 2011 at 12:50 pm

    Nice defense, Lynn. The reason that Kevlar vest are made is because people wearing them get shot. The people making guns, ammo and tank parts etc. are making them because we are in a semi-constant state of war w/ somebody (or we are arming somebody). We could do better, but that is just me.



    • PatRiot on July 31, 2011 at 5:04 pm

      Indeed we can do better.?
      It is apparent that neither party really cares about us Americans.? For every $$ the Dems drive to their own state, the Repubs will counter for their fair share too.? We will all suffer if we don’t yell at these fools.
      We are all pawns? to them, even the military.??Warmongers and prifiteers be damned.? The military is our insurance policy and must have the best, but should not be used except in emergency.???Kinda like knowing CPR and praying you never have to use it.?



  11. Lynn on July 27, 2011 at 4:40 pm

    ?Sammy, it is trite to say, but no one wants war. However, some of us thought that after 9/11, it would be good to fight against the jihad on their turf. In my world we would bring all our troops home from the Balkans, Korea all of Europe and everywhere else I can’t remember why we are still fighting. I even think we should consider getting out of Afghanistan, if our illustrious President cannot listen to his military advisers.? But I do think our troops have done a tremendous job in Iraq and were doing well in Afghanistan, it’s just that pesky Pakistan is aiding and abetting. Nonetheless, in my view fighting against the jihad is extremely necessary and is one of the few things a govt. should be doing.



  12. sammy22 on July 27, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    Well our illustrious congressional leaders of both sides (including the sainted Rep. Ryan) are saying that getting of of Iraq and Afghanistan will save $1Trillion over 10 years. Think what we could have done with the $1Trillion we have already spent on those 2 wars alone. But, keep looking for monsters under the bed (including that pesky Pakistan), that will keep the defense industry rolling along.



    • Dimsdale on July 27, 2011 at 5:51 pm

      We look for monsters in Libya, but ignore the very real monsters in Iran and North Korea.
      ?
      ?



  13. beekeeper925 on July 28, 2011 at 6:27 am

    Yeh, Sammy, Imagine how many new Democrat voters you could have bought with that Trillion dollars, with new Government social programs.



  14. Lynn on July 28, 2011 at 8:03 am

    Great comeback and yet sadly so true1



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