Congress is in the midst of its traditional August recess, five weeks of no congressional sessions in Washington. But politics, particularly the scrambling among presidential hopefuls, continues unabated.
Some would say that for all Congress has been accomplishing, the legislative branch might as well be in permanent recess.
Let's quickly acknowledge that many members are using the time to communicate with constituents. But the reality is that this Congress, like its immediate predecessors, is best known for bickering, non-productivity and politicization of just about every issue that comes along.
We know, of course, there is a congressional proclivity, especially in this era, to defer action until almost the stroke of midnight, or even beyond.
Are we looking at another government showdown or dancing on the precipice once again?
What is going on -- or not going on -- in Washington is heavily influenced by and interwoven with the permanent presidential campaign. Politics pervades and prevails. The prolonged campaign for party presidential nominations sets the tone and distorts the governmental system -- in part because of the intensive media coverage of the campaigners, with show-outs getting the spotlight and statesmen too often relegated to the shadows.
That's not to say that events such as last week's televised debates (which drew an impressive viewing audience) are of no value. Although Donald Trump's boorish behavior dominated attention, there were limited opportunities for others among the brigade of candidates to get some notice -- and Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich got some favorable props for their civility and comments.
While Trump rails against political correctness, which certainly can be overdone, resorting to incivility isn't the best way to make that point.
Political antics and considerations tend to dominate in Congress as well as on the campaign trail. Recently, Sen. Ted Cruz, who just happens to be among the Republican presidential aspirants, took to the Senate floor, to call Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader, a liar. That may have given Cruz and some of his more ardent backers a degree of satisfaction, but it did nothing to advance the legislative cause he was advocating.
Cruz's outburst led to rebukes from several colleagues, including conservative Republican stalwart Orrin Hatch, who said "the Senate today is a mere shadow of its former self, another casualty of the permanent political campaign." Hatch commented, "Squabbling and sanctimony may be tolerated in other venues or perhaps on the campaign trail, but have no place" in the Senate. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a leading Democrat, said "Cruz feels he need to be as disruptive as Donald Trump, so Trump becomes McConnell's problem."
There are still about 450 days remaining before the November 2016 presidential election. When Congress goes back into session after Labor Day, it will face some daunting deadlines and a limited time frame.
One of the issues remaining on the agenda is the future of the Export-Import Bank, a relatively insignificant government agency, but one that has become subject of fierce fighting, with Cruz saying the bank, which guarantees loans for foreign businesses to buy from U.S. companies, is corporate welfare. Previously non-controversial, it has become a symbolic target for some conservative groups, even though Ex-Im officials say 90 percent of the bank's customers are small businesses and many jobs are at stake. But Cruz and friends are like those big-game hunters we've been hearing about -- determined to nail a trophy on the wall at any cost.
The Ex-Im legislation became entangled in the highway bill because the Senate added an amendment to that measure to re-authorize Ex-Im. Allowing a vote on that amendment, which had majority support in the Senate, drew Cruz's ire. Eventually, a short-term extension of highway funding was approved, but the need for longer-term financing for infrastructure remains.
Atop the fall agenda is the Iran nuclear agreement, negotiated by the Obama administration and six other major powers. Congress is required to vote on this by Sept.17. National security interests should be the governing factor, but both sides accuse the other of playing politics. Republicans are seemingly solid against it, as are some Democrats. The GOP-controlled Congress is expected to reject the deal, and then Obama will veto the rejection. The outcome will be determined by whether the president can get sufficient Democratic support to sustain the veto, keeping the agreement alive.
Then there's the little matter of the debt-ceiling increase, bound to ignite partisan fires. Efforts to "defund" Planned Parenthood will also be subject of political jousting. And some important issues like cyber-security await action. Failure to agree on appropriations will likely lead to a series of continuing resolutions, which will resolve little.
Everything in Congress tends to take on a political coloration and the permanent presidential campaign exacerbates that, distorting the governmental process.
Commentary on 08/12/2015