Hold members of Congress accountable

It is deplorable that the serious economic issues that the country faces won’t be addressed between now and the Nov. 6 election. The 112th Congress, one of the most unpopular and unproductive in modern history, is more concerned about Election Day than finding ways to remedy those problems.

Topping the list of issues to be resolved is the Dec. 31 expiration of the Bush administration tax cuts, which, combined with more than $100 million in automatic spending cuts, could trigger another recession next year if Congress doesn’t find a solution.

And yet congressional ineptitude stays constant as our representatives seem to spend most of their time planning their respective trips home to campaign to keep their seats. It is downright pathetic.

It is time that voters held members of Congress accountable.

Voters can’t continue to elect and re-elect these politicians who have lost their sense of statesmanship.

Throughout the nation’s history, our elected representatives by and large understood that the only true way to lead a country was by finding common ground. This nation was built on compromise, regardless of whether voters have delivered a victorious candidate a “mandate.”

However, this incredibly polarized Congress, which may go down as the worst ever, holds the nation hostage because its members behave like spoiled children who aren’t getting their way.

Besides the presidency, on the ballot in November are each of the 435 seats in the House and a third of the 100-member Senate — 23 Republican seats and 10 Democratic seats.

If a member of Congress has refused to compromise for the benefit of this country, vote him or her out of office. It is time to make partisan ob-strep-erousness a thing of the past.

A productive Congress requires that lawmakers work to-gether to seek legislative compromise for the greater good of the country. It is called bipartisanship.

If we, as taxpayers, investors or concerned citizens, truly want change, then a good place to start is by cleaning house in Congress.

LOW APPROVAL RATINGS

In his blog for The Washington Post, Ezra Klein recently listed the “14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever.”

Besides passing no major legislation, he said, our representatives collectively have done serious damage to the economic recovery of this country.

We can’t find many holes in Mr. Klein’s assessment.

Just one in 10 Americans approves of the job Congress is doing, according to a recent Gallup poll, tying the branch’s lowest approval rating in 38 years.

The approval rate for Congress hasn’t passed 20% in more than a year, according to Gallup, and is far lower than the personal approval ratings for most members of Congress. Prior to 2007, it sank below 20% just twice.

The trend in the Gallup poll matches that found by other national surveys that track congressional job approval.

A recent CBS News/New York Times survey found that just 12% of U.S. adults approve of the job Congress is doing.

Congressional job approval was slightly better (19%) in a survey of likely voters conducted by National Public Radio, but even that result was the lowest that NPR had measured since 2009.

Those rock-bottom numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise.

While members of Congress are prioritizing their re-election campaigns and the Senate has a shortened September schedule, there remains a great deal of unfinished work to be done.