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Great Work, Congress: Speaker Pelosi's House to Honor Confucius' Birthday as Unemployment Nears 10 Percent
While Democratic Congress "Plays Hooky" and Opts For "Leisurely Routine" of "Two-and-a-Half-Day Workweeks," House Republicans Will Talk Health Care, Jobs Solutions Today
Washington
(Oct 27, 2009)
These are your hard-earned tax dollars at work: with millions of Americans looking for jobs and the nation’s unemployment rate nearing 10 percent, the U.S. House of Representatives today will take up a grand total of four non-controversial "suspension" bills. Four.
One (H. Res. 784) marks the birthday of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, who was welcomed into the world 2,327 years before the 13 colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. With so many of Democrats’ top priorities lagging and their leaders ensconced behind closed doors plotting their government takeover of health care, Congress has been “playing hooky” and settling into a “leisurely routine.” It’s unacceptable for Congress to take it easy at a time when out-of-work families struggling to make ends meet are asking “where are the jobs?” That’s why House Republicans will take to the floor this afternoon to talk about our better solutions to help small businesses create jobs and make health care more affordable and accessible for America's seniors.
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) commented on the House’s lack of floor activity:
"While Democrats get ready to celebrate the birth of an ancient Chinese philosopher, House Republicans will talk about our better solutions to create jobs and make health care more affordable and accessible for America' s seniors. It is unacceptable for Congress to take it easy at a time when the nation’s unemployment rate is nearing 10 percent and millions of out-of-work families struggling to make ends meet are asking, ‘where are the jobs?’”
WITH MILLIONS OUT OF WORK, “CONGRESS PLAYS HOOKY,” SETTLES INTO “LEISURELY ROUTINE” OF “TWO-AND-A-HALF-DAY WORKWEEKS”
- “House: working hard or hardly working? After taking control of the House in 2006 — and again when President Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) boasted that lawmakers would work four or five days a week to bring change to America. But midway through Obama’s first year in office, Hoyer’s House has settled into a more leisurely routine. … Two-and-a-half-day workweeks are not exactly what Hoyer had planned.” (Politico, 10/7/09)
- “Congress Plays Hooky on Fridays Despite Pledge by Democrats to Work All Week. … Democratic leaders promised when their party regained control of the House three years ago that lawmakers would work five-day weeks. But that plan apparently didn't work.” (Fox News, 10/16/09)
- “There may be good reasons why Americans dislike Congress so much. When Democrats took over the House in 2006 and when President Obama was elected last year, our lawmakers promised a four to five day workweek. … Members usually show up now for votes on Tuesday afternoons and then they go back to their districts after they work Thursday, a two-and-a-half day workweek.” (CNN, 10/7/09)
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