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With just over 100 days in the majority, Republicans have already passed almost a dozen bipartisan bills including a balanced budget and the Keystone XL pipeline. Congress has also reported over 50 bills out of committee, and has voted on over 100 amendments.
It stands in stark contrast to Harry Reid’s time in charge.
National Journal reports:
The House and Senate had more working days in the first quarter of 2015 than either did at this point during the previous two Congresses.
That’s telling.
In his op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove attributes this success to Republican leadership:
All of this is happening primarily because House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have restored regular order to their respective chambers.
Lawmakers are now expected to work on bills in committee, grinding through the process, rather than waiting to have measures dropped from above without time to read, adjust or amend them.
Nancy Pelosi’s philosophy of governing—“we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it”—is dead.
The Washington Post also [elaborates] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/21/suddenly-congress-is-actually-working-why/) upon Congress’ recent accomplishments:
In short order, Congress has passed the "doc fix" to close a Medicare payment loophole that had been kicked down the road dozens of times, moved toward giving President Obama fast-track negotiation authority on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, scheduled a vote on the long-delayed confirmation of Loretta Lynch as attorney general and, with it, struck a deal on legislation aimed at human trafficking.
Democrats are even saying positive things about the progress being made under the Republican Senate majority’s leadership. National Journal reports:
As veteran Congress-watcher Billy Moore puts it, "For years, no one in Washington lost money betting against Congress, but this time they might."
Moore says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s opening up the amendment process has made a huge difference. It hasn’t always succeeded, but this is the way the Senate was intended to function; this change enabled the process to begin working again.
As Karl Rove concludes in his Wall Street Journal piece:
After years of dysfunction, the House and the Senate are finally acting as the Constitution prescribes. The process is ragged, sometimes ugly, rarely fast and never completely satisfactory. Congress may not become popular. But it is at least functioning and thus more likely to produce real answers to the country’s challenges.
**With Harry Reid out of the spotlight and Republican leadership in place, Democrats in Congress are actually willing to work to create bipartisan solutions to address our nation’s most pressing challenges.
The Majority is working. For this reason and more, it is essential to maintain our Republican majority moving forward in 2016**