• After the November elections, House Democrats vowed to pass the “Six for ’06” bills (minimum wages, stem cell research, energy and so on) in the first 100 legislative hours of the 110th Congress and, to their credit, they did so in 87 hours. However, when those bills were sent to the Senate, three met resistance, one appeared to be destined for a veto by the President and two were subjected to heavy criticism from outside groups. Senate lawmakers have demonstrated a more leisurely approach to legislation, taking eight days to pass an ethics and earmarks bill.
• Ethics and earmarks rules captured the attention of both houses of Congress, but government watchdogs claim that while the rules look good on paper they lack provisions for robust enforcement. Historically Congress rejects independent oversight and, in keeping with history, the Senate rejected a proposal to create an Office of Public Integrity as an enforcement agency.
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