WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2006
Goodbye To The Do-Nothing Congress
Bob Schieffer Offers A Eulogy To The 109th
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Play CBS Video Video Schieffer: Do-Nothing Congress Bob Schieffer thinks Congressional members should not be upset at having to work five days a week like many of their constituents.
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Outgoing U.S. Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) walks towards the Senate Chamber with incoming Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Vice President Dick Cheney, and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) December 7, 2006 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Interactive The 109th Congress Meet the leaders and follow the action in the House and Senate.
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Interactive Foley Fallout Background on the former Florida representative and the probe into the House page scandal.
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Who's Who Leadership Shuffle The Democrats' success in the 2006 elections means changes at the top in the House and Senate.
This marks the end of what may have been the least productive Congress of modern times.
And, what finer way to remember it than two stories that broke last week?
First, when Democratic leaders announced the new Congress would work five days a week instead of the barely three days a week they worked this year, Democrats and Republicans howled.
Democrat Debbie Wasserman said it would force her to reschedule her daughter's Brownie troop meetings. Republican Jack Kingston said it would mean less time with his family and showed Democrats didn't care about families.
Earth to Congress: there are a lot of working parents who have to juggle family and work schedules. Maybe another line of work would better suit your lifestyles.
And there was this: The House Ethics Committee concluded House leaders had probably known for years that former Congressman Mark Foley was making inappropriate contact with teenage pages but chose to ignore it.
Yet the committee decided bad judgment didn't mean house rules had been violated so they recommended no punishment – not even a reprimand – for anyone.
As the father of grown children who once interned at the Capitol, I believe the time has come to shut down all congressional page and intern programs. Congress has demonstrated it has no real interest in protecting kids from what they might encounter there.
As for Congress working too hard, we should not only demand it work five days a week, but that members punch a time clock like many working Americans.
That way, we would at least know where they are.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 35 CommentsThink about it. A person working FULL-TIME for an entire year on the minimum wage makes only one-third as much as the raise that congress gave itself. Let me repeat that. Congress while refusing to increase the minimum wage gave themselves a thirty thousand dollar raise which in and of itself was three times as much, three times as much as the total wages for a minimum wage worker working an entire year at full time.
P.S. Congress worked slightly less than two days a week. CONGRESS WORKED LESS THAN TWO DAYS A WEEK.
If they are not in their office or in session at least 5 days a week from 9 to 5, they should be walking the streets and talking to the people they represent.
I vote we put ankle bracelets on them and the means for every "common" person to keep track of them through the internet.
I could not have said it better !
We need to pass a new rule.
"American citizens get to vote for congress pay raises.
If you do a good job, you get a raise.
Then we could really make them work!
"the committee decided bad judgment didn't mean house rules had been violated"
I wonder if that excuss would work with a judge?
Debbie Wasserman, "needs to reschedule her daughter's Brownie troop meetings?"
Stop your winning and get to work.
Jack Kingston said "it would mean less time with his family."
So get a new job Jack and don't ya come back, no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jack.
Your Fired!
We should have gotten rid of all the fat cat's in congress.
2 years from now, in 08, vote out the other fat cat do nothing members of Congress.
Maybe we can get some 5 day a week, regular working people to represent us.
Probably do a better job anyway.
Biggest paid goof offs in US history. These jerks can't get anything done and when someone else suggests they work longer and maybe get something done, for their constituants mind you, they say that shows Dem don't care for families. How about our families? Most of us work 5 days a week, you ***. How stupid do you think we are??
Let%u2019s see now. $160,000 for only three days %u201Cwork%u201D. I believe each one of these do nothings owes us 40 percent of their pay for the two days they did nothing after doing nothing the other three. That would be $64,000 times 6 years equals $384,000 from each member of our semiroyalty.
That money can be put to much better use for education, the environment, Katrina relief, etc.
No more pay raises for these bloated buffoons until we see poverty in this country eliminated.
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