Congress shuts down early, its do-nothing label assured

True to its word of a couple of weeks ago, but not true to its responsibility to the American people, the 109th Congress wrapped up its business in Washington last Friday and left town.
It cemented its place as the most do-nothing Congress in modern history. Not only did it avoid work it could have done, it ignored the work it should have done.
Congress did not even bother to pass 9 of the 11 major appropriation measures it is required to approve. It enacted a temporary appropriations bill and left it to the incoming Congress to sort out the mess.
One of the few members of this Congress who had the standing to criticize his colleagues' misfeasance and the guts to do so was the senator from Ohio, Republican George Voinovich.
Voinovich, the closest thing anyone is likely to find to a principled fiscal conservative in Washington, has been calling on Congress for years to take its budget -balancing responsibilities more seriously.
On the eve of last week's adjournment, Voinovich took to the Senate floor to give his personal and scathing appraisal of this Congress.
Brutal assessment
Sen. Voinovich told his colleagues: "Operating without a budget impacts our effectiveness in fighting the war on terror, it affects our ability to maintain and improve our transportation infrastructure and enhance our education system, and it further contributes to the public perception that Congress has no appreciation of the importance of good management..."
Voinovich correctly characterizes the budget and appropriations process in Washington as "broken."
Voinovich also noted that, "Congress has the power of the purse, but we are not the best stewards of the taxpayers' money if time after time we pass omnibus bills without even knowing what's in them, and if again and again we fund programs without knowing how these programs are performing."
As we pointed out in an editorial a few weeks ago, when Congress announced its plan to leave Washington earlier than scheduled, members of Congress are paid almost 3,200 a week-- even those many weeks when they aren't in Washington at all and those weeks when they consider anything more than three days in the capital an imposition.
When Congress fails to perform even its minimally required duties, such as appropriating the money needed to run the government -- not to mention working out a budget that balances those appropriations with the income available -- members of Congress are not earning their keep.
It is good that Voinovich and a few others have the stature and intestinal fortitude to stand up and say so. Too bad the majority seems perfectly willing to take their money and run.