Where Is The Log-Jam In The “Do Nothing Congress?”

NBC News posted an infographic which KSHB’s Lindsey Shivley wrote an article from, showing just how bad this “Do Nothing Congress” is when you compare it to the original:

The original “Do-Nothing” Congress in 1947 passed 906 bills into law. The current Congress passed only 142 bills this year. There are five months remaining in the session.

That’s 142 new laws.

Now, you and I know that “Do Nothing Congress” is code for Republicans in the House.

That’s why Obama keeps railing on the Congress, blaming them for everything, including his executive actions.

So where is the log-jam?

According to GovWatch.org, the House has passed 358 bills and sent them to the Senate for a vote.

The Senate, meanwhile, has passed 71 bills that are waiting for a vote in the House.

358 to 71.

Seems like the log-jam that’s creating the “Do-Nothing Congress” is in the Senate.

This is more evident when you look at the history of bills passed out of each chamber. From the Weekly Standard in early July:

Even compared to prior Congresses, this House does not appear to be as idle as the president suggests. Bills spiked during the 110th and 111th Congresses, but otherwise the 297 passed by the House in the 113th Congress is not far from the historical norm for the past several decades, particularly given that the 113th Congress is still in session (again, from GovTrack.us):

Again in contrast, bills passed by Senate have been down sharply since Harry Reid took over as majority leader, with the Senate in the 113th Congress on track to pass the fewest number of bills of any Senate as far back as 1973 (as far as the records at GovTrack.us go):

The problem with the Congress lies in the Senate. Sen. Harry Reid is holding everything up while he and, more importantly, Obama, blames everything on the House.

The House is passing bills. They just aren’t passing bills the Democrats like.