Decision ‘08

Novak Rips The Declining Congress

In the midst of a harangue on what a joke our congressional representation has become, Bob Novak sheds light on what happened during James Sensenbrenner’s refusal to grant the six-month extension of the Patriot Act the Senate had passed earlier this month:

This bizarre Senate session reflects a general decline on Capitol Hill. If there ever was a golden age of Congress, it preceded my time in Washington. More likely, Bismarck’s admonition that “laws are like sausages; it is better not to see them being made” always applied to Congress. Nevertheless, with bipartisan responsibility, Congress functions more poorly today and looks worse doing it.

Typical of what ails Congress was consideration of the Patriot Act last week as Congress finished for the year. A strong consensus wanted to extend the act that broadened anti-terrorist police powers. An outsider watching the Dec. 21 debate on the Senate-House conference would have heard mostly sloganeering without exposition of the issues, a congressional failing that is worse than ever.

When Democrats were joined by four conservative Republican senators to reject ending debate on the conference report, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist immediately suggested the absence of a quorum — a device increasingly used to avoid debate. Nothing happened on the Senate floor during a quorum call lasting nearly seven hours. Typically, the real debate took place outside of public view as senators agreed on a six-month extension of the act pending final negotiations.

The Senate’s extension required acquiescence by the House, which had shut down for the year except for pro forma sessions to conduct routine business. Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner was incensed. He flew back to Washington from Wisconsin determined to block the six-month extension.

“Last night,” a bristling Sensenbrenner told the House, “the other body [the Senate] ignored the will of the House” as well as a majority of senators. He pushed through a mere five-week extension to pressure the Senate into finally accepting the conference report next year. Sensenbrenner privately had the full support of House Republican leaders, who were furious with Frist’s performance in the Senate. Sensenbrenner and the House members then left town for good, and Warner had to conduct his one-man Senate session to keep the act from expiring Dec. 31.