111th Congress

The Five Most Accomplished Congresses Of The Past Hundred Years!

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As the 111th Congress officially comes to an end today, it is time to reflect on the accomplishments of the five best Congresses of the past hundred years.

The five most accomplished Congresses in chronological order would be as follows:

The 63rd Congress under President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1914).

The 73rd Congress under President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1934).

The 80th Congress under President Harry S Truman (1947-1948).

The 89th Congress under President Lyndon B. Johnson (1965-1966).

The 111th Congress under President Barack Obama (2009-2010).

Notice all of the Congresses were under Democratic Presidents, but the 80th Congress was controlled by the opposition Republicans!

What makes these Congresses stand out?

The 63rd Congress–The Underwood Simmons Tariff, The Federal Reserve Act, The Federal Trade Commission Act, The Clayton Anti Trust Act, Internal Revenue Tax Act, La Follette Seamen’s Act.

The 73rd Congress–The Agricultural Adjustment Act, The National Industrial Recovery Act, The Tennessee Valley Authority, The Civilian Conservation Corps, The Public Works Administration, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, The Securities And Exchange Commission, Home Owners Loan Corporation, Federal Emergency Relief Administration, The 20th Amendment, The 21st Amendment.

The 80th Congress–The Defense Department, The Central Intelligence Agency, The National Security Council, The Council Of Economic Advisers,The 22nd Amendment, The Presidential Succession Act, The Taft-Hartley Act, The Truman Doctrine, The Marshall Plan.

The 89th Congress–The Elementary And Secondary Education Act, Higher Education Act, Department of Housing And Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Voting Rights Act, Immigration And Nationality Act, National Traffic And Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Medicare and Medicaid Act, National Foundation On The Arts And The Humanities Act, Federal Cigarette Labeling And Advertising Act, Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Freedom Of Information Act, Highway Beautification Act.

111th Congress–Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Credit Card Act, Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Student Aid And Fiscal Responsibility Act, Wall Street Reform And Consumer Protection Act, Tax Relief And Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization And Job Creation Act, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act, 9/11 Health And Compensation Act, Food Safety And Modernization Act, START Treaty With Russia.

Much of the progress that this nation has seen in the past century is due to the activism of these five Congresses, and the Presidents in office at the time.

As we look to a likely very negative, regressive 112th Congress over the next two years, with a Republican House of Representatives and a Democratic Senate, let us realize that we have seen great accomplishments in the past which should not be reversed by a reactionary Republican Party out to destroy all of the reforms that have made America a better place.

The fight to prevent regression and negativism begins tomorrow, and will be fought “tooth and nail” during 2011-2012. All progressives must unite in this battle and never give in to despair and cynicism. The battle for the future depends on it!

The Leadership Of Nancy Pelosi And Harry Reid: Pilloried But Successful, Nevertheless!

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The Democratic leaders in the now ended 111th Congress, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both faced unprecedented attacks by Republicans, conservatives, and much of the news media, as well as the general public which was mostly ignorant of what they were doing, and the pressures they were constantly under.

Never in the history of the nation has Congressional leadership been so pilloried, ridiculed, abused, mistreated, disrespected to the level that these two stalwarts faced daily, as the barrage of criticism was non stop for both of them.

For Harry Reid, in some ways, it was worse, as his opponent for re-election, Sharron Angle, blamed him for everything that was wrong with America, including, it seemed, “original sin”!

But despite that, Reid came back to the Senate for another six year term, after having the burden of Republican filibusters, his campaign problems, and his wife’s serious auto accident. What a set of burdens to carry, and Harry Reid carried them with grace and dignity. A soft spoken man, often underrated, he did much more than anyone thought he could, culminating in the Lame Duck Session triumphs of the past two weeks!

Pelosi, considered in the class of Thomas “Tip” O’Neill and Sam Rayburn as a Speaker of the House, faced vilification, with much of it based on the fact that she was a woman, a strong, outspoken woman, who was not going to take GOP opposition and allow it to dominate the Congressional agenda. More legislation was passed under her than since the mid 1960s, and there were also hundreds of other bills that never made it through the Senate, making her an extremely productive leader!

There is no way around it, but to say, that we should applaud both Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for a job well done, and a Congress which will stand out in history as one of the best ever, despite all the naysaying and negativism that prevails.

Will John Boehner have anywhere near the level of accomplishment and success of Nancy Pelosi with his caucus, with so many Tea Party activist rebels in the group? Don’t bet on it! 🙁

An Amazing, Historic Day: Triple Victory And Culmination Of Brilliant Lame Duck Session, One Of Greatest Performing In American History! :)

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December 22, 2010, will go down in history as an extremely rare day in American history, as THREE major accomplishments came to fruition in just a few hours! 🙂

The signing of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” for the military in a morning ceremony was a great civil rights victory, the greatest since 1965.

The ratification of the START Treaty with Russia was President Obama’s greatest foreign policy accomplishment in office, and won 13 Senate Republican supporters, winning 71-26 in the afternoon. This was an important step forward in gaining Russian support for dealing with the growing threat presented by Iran.

And then, in an ultimate vote of conscience, the Congress gave justice to September 11 First Responders by passing medical care legislation for those heroes who worked so hard under difficult conditions after the tragic attack on the World Trade Center.

This day just culminates a fantastic Lame Duck Session, in which unemployment compensation extension was accomplished, along with continuation of tax cuts that already existed (but unfortunately with continued tax cuts to the top two percent, which will add nearly a trillion to the national debt, but a necessary compromise under the circumstances), and a food safety bill which gives the Food and Drug Administration more authority over the subject than at any time since 1938 under the New Deal.

The only major failure and loss was the DREAM Act, which Obama made clear, at a triumphant, confident, press conference, was still a major goal to be accomplished in the 112th Congress, which seems doubtful.

But Obama certainly revived from the major defeat in the midterm elections just six weeks ago, and is seen as having made a “comeback”, which means no one should underestimate his ability to get things done, and to accomplish his goals, because as he said, when he feels strongly about some issue, he is “persistent”!

So we should all congratulate Obama and his party for having done what seemed to be the impossible–REAL accomplishments in a Lame Duck session, which many Republicans thought was a useless waste of time! HOW WRONG THEY WERE !

Triumph For The September 11 First Responders Medical Care Legislation! :)

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As I write, the 9/11 First Responders Medical Care Act has passed its last hurdles to passage, and being signed into law by President Obama.

The threatened “hold” of Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn was overcome with a voice vote, and after a little tinkering with the cost, which is fully paid for.

The fact that the legislation was held hostage by Senate GOP leadership is an absolute disgrace, and they were shamed into allowing action finally, after condemnation by Jon Stewart of the Comedy Channel, former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, and even Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith! 🙁

The idea that Senator Coburn, himself a so called medical doctor, opposed passage and tried to bottleneck it, should be condemned as absolutely despicable and unconscionable behavior, unbecoming any United States Senator! 🙁

But as we know, these past two years have seen example after interminable example of outrageous behavior and statements by a party which used to be seen as respectable, but now is seen as representing the loonies, rather than the mainstream of America! 🙁

The fact that our “heroes” of September 11 will finally get some well deserved justice and financial support for their sacrifices nine years ago is to be hailed as a great moment in the history of our nation, as what they did is no different than what our freedom fighters have done throughout our history on the battlefields of the world, promoting freedom and liberty in the name of our ideals! 🙂

The nation should be blessing our 111th Congress for the great deed they have finally achieved!

The 111th Congress’ Successes Are Magnificent, Greatest Since 1965-1966! The Democrats And President Obama Must Spread The Message! :)

Ronald 4 Comments

The Democratic Party has accomplished a proud record of achievements that should be enough to keep Republican gains down during the midterm election of 2010, but they have not been able to transmit these successes adequately to the American people!

It is now the job of President Obama and all Democratic officeholders and candidates to promote, hail, endorse, and defend a record unmatched by any Congress since the 1960s! 🙂

The only Congresses that could be seen as having accomplished MORE than the 111th Congress are the 73rd Congress under Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1934), and the 89th Congress under Lyndon B. Johnson (1965-1966)!

This Congress, under Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has enacted much pathbreaking legislation, but it will take years to feel the full impact of what they have done for the American people!

Among the accomplishments are the following (not an exhaustive list):

1. Passage of the largest stimulus package in history, which prevented a worst economic downturn, but may not have been enough to turn the economy around as quickly as many hoped for!
2. credit card consumer protection legislation.
3. landmark health care reform legislation.
4. Wall Street regulation.
5. tobacco regulation.
6. reform of contracting in the Pentagon, and the beginning of accountability on wasteful spending.
7. tax cuts for the middle class.
8. an anti age discrimination law.
9. approval by the Senate of two Supreme Court nominees.
10. extension of unemployment compensation after a battle in the Senate.
11. Much other legislation, including on climate change, in the House, but blocked in the Senate!

Many other initiatives were taken by President Obama outside of Congressional activity, and it should be made clear to the American people that the President and his party have worked VERY HARD to change the direction of the country, and deal with the total mess left by the Republicans and George W. Bush!

But to expect total success and a complete turnaround of years of damage in less than two years is unrealistic, so the Democrats must play hardball, and get the message out that a return to the Republican policies through an attempted repeal of the 111th Congress’s accomplishments would be counterproductive, as well as destructive, of the interests and the future of the American people! 🙁