In 1948 President Truman called the Congress in his day the "Do Nothing Congress" which actually stayed in session longer than Nancy Pelosi's "Do Nothing Congress".
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took the reigns of the current Congress she promised the voters a 5 day work week but during the very first week of the new session, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MO) announced that the House of Representatives were taking a break because of a football game.
In February, the House of Representatives was in session for 9 days and three of those days the session lasted for 20 minutes.
The Congress has accomplished a few things to be fair, it has re-named 6 federal buildings and 1 National Park, authorized the construction of 541 feet of a road in St. Louis County, MO. and of course they made sure they would receive an increase in their Congressional Salaries before going on vacation. (God forbid that they take a vacation without a pay increase to just under $170,000.00 annually)
Last year subsequent to the Congressional Elections, Rep. Steny Hoyer said speaking for the Democratic Controlled 110th Congress, "...Members will be expected in the Capital for votes each week by 6:30 pm and we will finish the week by 2:00 pm Friday. With the New Calendar, Democrats are going to project a business like image...Members can bid farewell to extended holidays when most Americans get a single day off..." (Democratic Party Blog 12-6-2006)
Before the Congress left for their latest vacations, Congress approval numbers were at an all time record low of 14% the lowest public approval ratings of any Congress since Gallup began polling.
