Andrew Rudalevige explains how the 112th Congress is, truly, the do-nothing Congress.
The 112th Congress has not yet ceased to be, but as of today the Library of Congress’s “Thomas” site shows that 173 bills have become public law since January 2011. Legislators should add at least one more this week, albeit with the continuing resolution punting the fiscal 2013 budget sometime into calendar year 2013 (thus passing on any given session’s most important obligation.) The lame duck session after the election will add to the total as well. Even so, as Jennifer Steinhauer pointed out yesterday, the present Congress has done far less than the so-called “Do Nothing” 80th Congress of 1947-48, which produced 906 laws.