This year has seen a drastic increase in the public’s frustration with Congress and the Obama Administration. The re-election of President Obama, one-third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives in November 2012 brought more than 80 new elected officials to Washington.
The government shutdown lasted just over two weeks. After continuous name calling, blaming and political insults, the House and Senate finally agreed on a deal that would essentially almost ensure another fiscal showdown at the beginning of 2014, a midterm election year.
After several months of planning and patience, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has introduced the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (H.R. 3090).
As we step into September, Members of Congress return to Washington, D.C., after a five-week recess. While Congress has not been inactive, the overwhelming majority of action taken in both the House and Senate has been largely symbolic because of political posturing and the refusal to vote on legislation passed by the opposite party.
When I sit down to write Inside Washington every month, I often struggle to find the balance between expressing the proper level of concern for America’s decaying infrastructure and trying to articulate the often unjustifiably apathetic response from our representation in Congress.
As the first quarter of the 113th Congress comes to a close, Congress has very little to show for it. So far, the actions in Congress can best be described as yet-to-be-fulfilled promises. The 113th Congress began with several marque items on the agenda.
On March 29, 2013, President Barack Obama announced his Rebuild America Partnership at the Port of Miami. This plan, as a precursor for his Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) budget, aims to strengthen the financial investment in America’s infrastructure. In his speech, Obama outlined a very general but robust plan for the investment.
When I leave Washington to visit friends and family, I’m often asked, “How do you do it?” In this case “it” refers to one of two things, depending on how cynical the person. Some are asking how I deal with the bureaucratic, political, divisive, argumentative nature of government willingly and enthusiastically.