Policy & Issues
U.S. President Barack Obama makes a shot as he plays golf with some Senators May 6, 2013 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Credits: Dennis Brack-Pool/Getty Images
Congress just started a summer vacation that will last five full weeks. President Obama also just started another "vacation" at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. He will be staying at a $7.6M mansion with 75 rooms booked for staff.
The cost to the tax payers for the Obama staff rooms will range in price from $225 to $345 per night. Considering the cost of the operation of Air Force One, one estimate for the total cost of the vacation is $2M. Other reports say that total cost will be $7.6M, when the figure represents the cost of the resort where he will be staying, a total misrepresentation. A recent trip by President Obama and family to Africa was claimed to have cost about $100M. But, no one knows the actual cost. This trip in turn seems to have been dwarfed by multiple trips by President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush's to Africa. President Bush went to Africa twice and Laura Bush took five trips to that continent during the Bush presidency. In her 2007 trip, Laura Bush took her daughters with her and they went on a safari.
By one estimate, President George Bush spent 32% of his presidency on vacation, the most among all presidents. His longest vacation was five weeks, the longest in 36 years.
Congress in turn seems to be on perpetual holiday. The number of bills passed by Congress last year was fewer than at any year since 1947. In fact congressmen are expected to get 239 "vacation days" in 2013.
It is even more depressing to learn about the bills that are actually passed by Congress or voted in the two houses without becoming the law. In particular, the House has voted to repeal Obamacare 40 times.
One thing that Congress excels in is in naming Post Office buildings after various historical figures. In fact, the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan research division of Congress, has found that about "20 percent of laws passed in recent years were for naming post offices."
The only other area where Congress has been productive has been in passing sanctions on other countries, specially Iran. Almost every week, a new sanctions bill is introduced and passed without any objection it seems. In fact, sanctions bills on Iran typically pass the Senate by a vote of 100-0.
There is only one conclusion that can be drawn by the constant vacations and mindless congressional voting practices. To pass the next jobs bill, President Obama should propose it as an amendment to a bill naming a Post Office building or a sanctions bill on Iran.
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