In the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, you'd think it wouldn't be business as usual in the House of Representatives. But you'd be wrong.
The House has taken action on nearly 200 bills and regulations this year. Roughly a dozen of them have to do with the nation’s troubled economy, but many more of them are small bills, which are sometimes referred to as “vanity” bills. They are often inconsequential pieces of legislation naming buildings after friends or colleagues, or honoring a person or group, or authorizing the use of Federal property for use by an outside group.
CNN’s Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider says these actions by congressmen are useful in “building up their personal favorability rating. That’s how they stay elected... the question is, is it overwhelming other business?”
While it’s doubtful that’s the case, the business as usual presentation of small bills in these troubled times might give the wrong appearance when people are losing their jobs, living in tent cities, or losing their life savings in the stock market. “I think sometimes it seems out of touch,” says Congressional Quarterly’s Jonathan Allen.
So what are some of these bills? The Library of Congress has kept track of every single House of Representative floor action this year.
There’s House Resolution 224, which supports the “designation of Pi Day”. That’s “Pi” as in the numerical value of the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter—and not an apple pie. Rep. Bart Gordon of Tennessee sponsored that one.
Rep. John Boehner of Ohio offered of H.R. 128, “Honoring up Miami University for its 200 years of commitment to extraordinary higher education.” That’s the school in Ohio and not the one in Florida.
What about the native American chief Geronimo? Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona sponsored H.R. 132 by noting the chief’s birthday anniversary on “February 17, 2009, as a time of reflection and the commencement of a “Healing” for all Apache people.
And then there are scores of Federal buildings that may get new names thanks to the work of Congressmen and their staffs.
Rep. John Barrow of Georgia wants a post office in Sparta, GA names after Yvonne Ingram-Ephraim. You can look that one up. It’s H.R. 663.
The former Commerce Secretary Ron Brown may have a Federal building named after him in New York City if Rep. Charles Rangel has his way. H.R. 837 passed the House in on March 11. It awaits passage in the Senate.
And then there’s Rep. David Loebsack from Iowa. He’s tried twice to have the US courthouse at 131 East 4th St. in Davenport, Iowa named after the man he beat running for Congress in 2006, former Rep. James A. Leach. It past the House during the last term, but the Senate didn’t act on it. So he reintroduced the bill on Feb. 4. H.R. 887, like its predecessor passed the House but has yet to win approval in the Senate. We asked the Congressman if this is the right time to be working on such a measure. He replied with a statement that says in part:
“...Iowans are the hardest working people in the country. It should be of no surprise that my congressional office handles a number of tasks and priorities on any given day. People should expect nothing less from their representatives in government. Former Congressman Jim Leach is a native son to Iowa, for three decades Jim represented Eastern Iowa with distinction and grace. By naming a courthouse after him in his hometown, we move past politics and honor Jim’s dedication and service to Iowa. ”
Congressional Quarterly’s Allen says small bills can involve significant staff time. Often a congressman will seek co-sponsorships from all the other members in his state’s delegation regardless of party. That means someone has to go to the House offices of each member in the state, explain the bill, and get their signatures as co-sponsors. Just like other bills, these small bills must go from subcommittee to committee to the floor, where typically the sponsor and some of the co-sponsors will speak on behalf of the bill.
Allen jokingly asks, “What would they be doing if they weren’t meeting on the House floor? They might be meeting with special interest lobbyists.”