The second week of the new Congressional session starts today and I am once again sad to report the Democratic leadership of this Congress is not focusing on issues that benefit working Americans.  Last week the leadership of this Congress ended each business day before 4 pm.

The Congress worked a reduced working schedule last week, in fact it would be hard to even say it worked at all and it seems the schedule will be the same this week.  Some believe the leadership is hoping to fool the American people into thinking the Democrat Congress is doing work all of the days it plans to have Members of Congress in Washington, away from their districts and their constituents. 

Included in last week’s accomplishments was the passage of the new Democratic Rules Package, which extended the time Democrats can chair committees, reduced the rights of Republicans to represent their constituents and took the House of Representatives one step closer to being the most authoritarian and dictatorial Congress since the early part of the 20^th century.

To that end, Speaker Pelosi plans to bring a children’s health insurance bill to the floor that will significantly increase taxes on tobacco products while doing nothing to ensure poor and under privileged children will receive the health care they need.  This is exactly the kind of backwards logic the American people don’t want to see but expect from this Congress. 

The Congress should begin holding hearings on deficit reduction and the impact of the incoming President’s proposed $800 billion economic stimulus package.  The Congressional Budget Office recently released deficit projections that show the deficit will be $1.2 trillion in 2009, a new record.  Such numbers are not comforting and all signs indicate Congress will continue deficit spending at unprecedented levels.

Soon the bailouts will have to stop and Congress will be forced to address issues important to working families.  I urge my colleagues that run the House of Representatives to scrap their vote schedule and immediately bring to the floor the remaining funding bills they failed to pass last Congress.  I also urge them to bring forward legislation that will decrease our dependence on foreign oil, reduce lawsuit abuse, lower the tax burden on American families and hold corporate America responsible for how it has spent the bailout money.