[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9196-9197]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 109TH CONGRESS HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 31, 2006, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, my colleague from New Jersey who just spoke 
is exactly right. This Congress, this year, this House of 
Representatives will probably meet fewer days, fewer hours than any 
Congress since 1948. President Harry Truman called that Congress the 
Do-Nothing Congress because it did almost nothing, and it only tried to 
work for about 110 days out of the whole year of 365 days. We will meet 
for substantially fewer days than the Do-Nothing Congress. So how do 
you do less than nothing? Sadly, the American public is about to find 
out.
  Now, how does the schedule happen? Well, in the House of 
Representatives, it is set by the majority party. They can choose. They 
can make us work a long year or a short year, or a very short year as 
they have decided to do this year.
  Now, why are we meeting for so few days? Well, it is not because 
taxpayers back home aren't paying us a full-time, full-year salary. We 
are making the same pay. But yet we are able to spend 9 or 10 months of 
the year back home in our districts. And I love that. My wife and kids 
are back home, I love being home 4 or 5 days a week every week.
  But I am worried about America, and I am worried that this House is 
not confronting the problems that America faces, because the workweek 
here in Congress is really too short to even be called a workweek. The 
normal congressional schedule, and this week is not a normal week, but 
the normal schedule is we come to Washington Tuesday afternoon for a 
few votes on Tuesday night; those are usually inconsequential votes 
such as, for example, renaming post offices. On Wednesday, sometimes 
there are some real votes, and sometimes on Thursday, usually Thursday 
morning. And then by Thursday afternoon our so-called workweek is over. 
Well, this is called the Tuesday-Thursday Club. I have been in Congress 
a number of years, there always was a Tuesday-Thursday club, but 
membership in that club used to be reserved for a few folks who 
happened to have congressional districts nearby in Virginia or 
Maryland, or, quite frankly, for some members who didn't really care 
about the job, who didn't want to attend all the hearings, who didn't 
want to participate in the debates, who didn't want to study the 
legislation and really face the problems that America faces.
  Sadly, today, Mr. Speaker, pretty much everybody belongs to the 
Tuesday-Thursday Club. Because if you are

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here in Washington on Monday or Friday, you will discover that none of 
your colleagues are. No hearings are being held. No investigations are 
being conducted.
  For example, the majority in their wisdom has abolished most all of 
the subcommittees that has the power to investigate because they simply 
do not want investigations to take place. Well, that is one of the 
primary functions of Congress, is to conduct what they call oversight. 
And that doesn't mean overlooking a problem. It means digging into a 
problem so you can find out exactly how taxpayer dollars are being 
spent.
  So, Mr. Speaker, we are in this ironic situation with America 
confronting a myriad of problems, and here we are working less than any 
time in literally a half century, working less than any time since 
1948.
  It is time that this Congress got down to business to confront 
problems such as, for example, what my constituents back home want is 
an immigration bill. And the House passed one back last December. The 
Senate hopefully will pass one this week or next week. But then those 
two have to be reconciled into a bill that both Houses can support. 
With only a few days left in this entire session, how are we going to 
reconcile that legislation? Is it going to be a good bill when it is 
reconciled? The clock is ticking, Mr. Speaker. There is very little 
time left.
  Let me mention one other issue that I think is of great concern to 
all Americans. If you have anyone in your family who has been touched 
by the dread diseases of Parkinson's or Alzheimer's or diabetes or 
cancer or a stroke or heart disease, or any other of a myriad of 
diseases, you are probably interested, you are probably in strong 
support of embryonic stem cell research so that our brilliant 
scientists can try to discover cures for these dread diseases. The best 
information we have is that some 72 percent of the American people 
favor research in this area. They want it done. They want it done now. 
They want it done in America, too. They are not willing to outsource an 
entire area of scientific hope for our patients. But although this 
House passed a stem cell bill, the Senate has not, and we need action 
on that, because the House passed stem cells a year ago.
  I see that my time is expired, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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