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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services Green Party candidate drops from state Senate race Work begins on Southern Oregon's first dedicated mountain bike trail Judge OKs dispensary ban in Cave Junction Iron Mike loses his rifle ... again Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Iron Mike loses his rifle ... again Emergency services Ashland's Iron Mike statue has its gun stolen Hoppe and Peterson at it again in Jackson County judge's race Politics and Elections Green Party candidate drops from state Senate race Commissioner's race: Ankerberg touts financial expertise Commissioner's race: Moro lauds energy efficiency jobs Commissioner's race: Dyer wants to attract high-tech jobs Hoppe and Peterson at it again in Jackson County judge's race Education Foundation kicks off ambitious 'Count Me In' fundraising campaign 100 hours and counting SOU students protest university's free-speech zone Boys & Girls Clubs bursting at the seams Phoenix High School restores homecoming parade Environment Work begins on Southern Oregon's first dedicated mountain bike trail Applegate Dam hydroelectric project dead in water Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt Josephine County ballot measure would ban commercial and government pesticide use Low water exposes Emigrant Lake's past State news Nation - World Obituaries Alvin Simmons Death Notices James Waldo Littlefield Francis Bagley Cecile (DeLozier) Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Crusaders snare seventh straight league title Ferrer, Murray advance to Vienna final SOU shuts down Beacons for weekend sweep Martin sizzles to 62, leads by two Bumgarner gets nod for Giants World Series opener Varsity 541 College Sports SOU shuts down Beacons for weekend sweep Raiders drop wild game to Carroll, 42-40 White serves as extension of Valenti's OSU legacy Raiders record sixth straight win Will Petersen have same magic against Ducks? Pro Sports Ferrer, Murray advance to Vienna final Martin sizzles to 62, leads by two Bumgarner gets nod for Giants World Series opener Big finish gives Putnam piece of lead Seahawks trade Harvin to Jets Community Sports LOCAL EVENTS LOCAL RESULTS Business Latest Stories Rogue Credit Union awaits southeast Medford opportunity People in Business Blog: Early Holiday Shopping Hundreds look for work at Harry & David hiring fair Frontier Airlines to end Eugene-Denver service Real Estate News Lithia buys Clovis dealership Rental vacancies increase Jackson County real estate sales, prices continue rebound Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford Medford's Pixel Productions moves to new quarters People In Business People in Business Transportation Frontier Airlines to end Eugene-Denver service Business Resource Fair has answers Erickson's Navy contract extended Lithia buys Clovis dealership Agriculture Hundreds look for work at Harry & David hiring fair Umpqua Holdings more than doubles net earnings Harry & David will hold hiring fair Thursday Ranchers offer livestock exchange 1-800-Flowers CEO: Labor shortage an issue for Harry & David Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, Oct. 18 Reversing course: Hoppe for judge Letters to the Editor, Oct. 17 Our view: With respect, our support goes to Bates Isolation won't work for U.S. or the world Editorials Reversing course: Hoppe for judge Our view: With respect, our support goes to Bates Our View: Bearnson, Stine, Lane for Medford council Our View: No clear favorite for county commissioner, position 1 Our View: It's time to legalize marijuana Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Oct. 18 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 17 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 16 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 15 Election Letters, Oct. 14 Guest Opinions Infill is the answer to growth issues Guest Opinion: Who’s really to blame for 2014 wildfires? 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Judge OKs dispensary ban in Cave Junction ... Ashland's Iron Mike statue has its gun stolen ... Green Party candidate drops from state Senate race ... Judge OKs dispensary ban in Cave Junction ... Ashland's Iron Mike statue has its gun stolen ... Congress is in session — well, technically ... The people's representatives can't agree on much of anything these days — even calling a recess. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jul. 3, 2014 @ 12:01 am Updated Jul 3, 2014 at 2:00 AM Posted Jul. 3, 2014 @ 12:01 am Updated Jul 3, 2014 at 2:00 AM » Social News The people's representatives can't agree on much of anything these days — even calling a recess. When senators and members of the House went home for their Independence Day break, they didn't, or couldn't, agree on an adjournment resolution. So they did what they usually do: They went into "pro-forma session," a status when they are technically working but don't actually do anything. Come to think of it, that's pretty much how it is when they're in town, too. I visited the congressional galleries Tuesday to catch this week's pro-forma action. On the House floor, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., was giving a lecture about Washington, D.C., voting rights to schoolchildren, who squirmed. Nearby, three maintenance workers tinkered with the electronic voting system, illuminating the board that shows which bill is up for a vote. "MOTION," it said. "TO TEST THE EVS." No objection was heard, so apparently the resolution passed. Lawmakers are home. Staffers in the Capitol lounge were in open-collar shirts. But make no mistake: Congress is in session. President Obama made this mistake. He made recess appointments during a pro-forma session, claiming it was really a recess, and the Supreme Court unanimously smacked him down last week: "The Senate is in session when it says it is, provided that, under its own rules, it retains the capacity to transact Senate business." It didn't seem to matter to the justices that the body seldom "retains the capacity to transact Senate business" even (or especially) when its members are in town. Obama vented his frustration Monday, condemning "the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill" on immigration. He defended executive actions again Tuesday, saying that "as long as they insist on taking no action whatsoever that will help anybody, I'm going to keep on taking actions on my own." Congress has passed just 56 public laws this year, for a total of 121 since the beginning of 2013. This virtually guarantees the current Congress will be the least productive in history, well behind the "do nothing" Congress of 1948, which passed more than 900 bills. And many of the 121 bills are not exactly weighty. The GOP House won't take up immigration or unemployment insurance, but it has passed many bills that Obama doesn't want to sign and Senate Democrats don't want to pass, including opening the Keystone XL pipeline, repealing the medical-device tax and 40 smaller items that House leaders call "jobs" bills. In the Senate, only nine bills have passed in roll-call votes this year (a half-dozen other substantive bills have passed by unanimous consent) and not one of the 13 appropriations bills. The Democratic majority claims the chamber has been bottled up by the Republicans, who in turn say Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has shut them out of the process. Both have a point. According to a Republican leadership tally, Reid has granted only 11 roll-call votes on Republican amendments in the last year, and he has used a procedural tactic known as "filling the tree" 86 times in this Congress to block Republican amendments. This is more than twice the number of times — 40 — used by the previous six majority leaders combined. The difficulty in declaring a recess shows how far things have slipped. Reid began objecting to adjournments late in the Bush administration to prevent recess appointments. Republicans have used the same tactic in the last few years. The Constitution doesn't allow either chamber to be out of session for more than three days without the other's approval, and majorities in both are evidently wary of forcing adjournment votes, which could be seen as voting themselves vacations. Hence, the pro-forma Congress. On Monday, the House opened for business at 11:30 a.m. — and after 3 minutes and 18 seconds (time for an opening prayer and Pledge of Allegiance) it recessed until a similar charade scheduled for Thursday. The Senate gaveled in at noon Monday and, dispensing with prayer and pledge, gaveled out 28 seconds later. On Tuesday morning, public-address speakers near the (empty) Senate floor announced a shelter-in-place drill. I poked my head into the secretary of the Senate's office and surprised a man in a sport shirt. "This is my pro-forma gear," quipped a tieless Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, when we met in McConnell's empty reception room. Lawmakers return next week in time to resolve some pressing questions: Will they have the nerve to declare a formal recess when they leave for August? And will anybody notice that they're gone? Dana Milbank is a Washington Post columnist. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jul. 3, 2014 @ 12:01 am Updated Jul 3, 2014 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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