• The House of Representatives of the 110th Congress adjourned in mid-December. However, to keep President Bush from making recess appointments, the Senate conducted “pro forma” sessions that lasted only minutes. By the time Congress adjourned, there had been 2,531 bills introduced in the Senate and 4,930 in the House. According to the Library of Congress, the 110th Congress passed 155 bills. Improving automobile efficiency standards, raising the minimum wage and strengthening ethics legislation were among the more noteworthy accomplishments. More than one-third of the bills renamed post offices and other buildings and addressed past legislative errors and gaps.
• As anticipated, Congress failed to pass individual bills for 11 of the 12 government agencies that had been forced to operate at the previous fiscal year’s funding because their appropriations bills had not made it through the legislative process. In a rush to complete funding before it adjourned, Congress passed a $555 billion “omnibus” spending bill that lumped all agency funding into one bill. Only the $459 billion defense appropriations bill escaped the omnibus legislation.
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