Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), acting Senate minority leader, mode a good point when he urged lawmakers not to allow the series of primary elections to distract them unduly from their responsibilities and work load in Congress.
He was “on the mark” also in his comment that another concept of primaries ought to be considered “so that we will not have to go through these individual elections and put the candidates through such an exhausting ordeal.”
The succession of primaries is not only “exhausting,” but costly… and extends the campaign for a too-prolonged period.
From the Senate’s point of view, Stevens said he sees the pattern as “an increasing strain an the lawmakers as we go through the primaries again this year.”
He added: “I request on behalf of the minority that we attempt to get better cooperation from all members of the Senate in terms of their necessary absence. . . when they leave to participate in primaries… I do think we have been stymied to a certain extent so far in the beginning of this year by absences we could not predict.”
The acting minority leader said that in the less than 90 days before the Republican convention there are some 14 appropriation bills, authorizations for those bills, the budget process, a series of 770 laws that expire during the calendar year, all of which have to be reviewed to determine whether the Senate wishes to extend the life of such existing laws.
Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) acknowledged a heavy workload, but tended to temper and minimize the pressure, pointing to the dispatch with which the Senate cleared the calendar of “must” legislation last year. “Most of the legislation that was left is deadwood, not going anywhere.”
He did place emphasis on the need for committees working now to report out as soon as possible so the vital measures can be brought up for action. “The sooner these authorization measures are passed, the sooner we can take them up on the floor.”
How ever you look at, the salons face a congested schedule. They owe it to the people to concentrate on the job at hand to get the necessary work done in an orderly manner without undue rushing or interruption.
I am unsure why this article was included in Chris’ papers. Perhaps it was originally written by him and reprinted by Gary Trudeau.