A Slowdown on the Floor?

The lack of floor action in the House has begun to frustrate and worry members going into the 2008 election cycle.  While there have been some significant pieces of legislation passed, most recently the indefinite delay on the Bush-supported Colombia Free Trade Agreement, much of the day-to-day floor business consists of suspension votes.  There are reports of growing concern within the Democratic Caucus that come November, incumbents will have a hard time getting reelected since there have been so few significant accomplishments -- particularly since one of the major promises from the Democratic Party in 2006 was to bring change.  The Republican leadership is blaming the Democrats and Democratic leadership for this apparent lack of progress -- and in the game schema, this strategy can be seen as an attempt to link Democrats with Congress's low approval rating and aid Republican challengers in November.  However, Democrats, particularly the leadership, are trying to use the governing schema to frame the situation, saying that the majority of what Congress does, doesn't happen on the floor, but rather in committees, and that the committees have been very productive.

Regardless of party spin, different representatives are citing different reasons for the supposed legislative slowdown from President Bush, to Senators (and presidential hopefuls) Clinton and Obama's current ongoing quest for superdelegates, but there are some who are criticizing the Democratic leadership for not pushing the committee chairs to get more done.  This idea that most of the legislative responsibility lies with the committee chairs, and that it's the responsibility of the leadership to make sure that Congress runs effectively and efficiently follows with a more centralized view of Congress and democracy -- and less with the "I'm Just a Bill" where individual citizens petition their individual representatives who then take responsibility for getting the legislation passed.