On the recordJuly 11, 2014
We are approaching the end of the session, and I know Republicans--my good colleagues on the other side--recognize that they are on track to beat last year's session, where we had the distinction of being the Congress with the lowest productivity in recorded United States history. There seems to be some Members who are looking around to make up for lost time as to what to do. There is always the District of Columbia. If you want to fatten your agenda, why not introduce a bill having to do with the District of Columbia? That ought to be a free enough ride. After all, the District of Columbia has a Member of Congress who can't even vote against your bill; so why not try that? I find, as I look at the record of Members who do that, that there is a pattern there. These are often Members who have introduced very few bills that would benefit their own districts. {time} 1130 Next week, the financial services appropriation bill will be on the floor. It happens to contain the District of Columbia appropriation. Now, of course, unless you are familiar with this bizarre situation, you will wonder, what in the world is the District of Columbia appropriation doing here in the first place? Well, it shouldn't be here because it doesn't have a dime of Federal money in it.…
