John Boehner on Thursday during his weekly press conference:
Boehner on idea this is the most unproductive Congress ever: "That's just total nonsense. … I reject the premise of the question."
— @elisefoley
The only problem with that is that the premise of the question ... is a little thing we like to call reality. The 113th Congress is just seven months old, but during the 112th Congress (2011-12), the House
passed fewer bills than any Congress since the records started getting tracked in 1947.
Things aren't getting better: At this point in 2011, when the House was beginning its least productive session ever, the House had passed 23 bills which became laws. That compares to 15 so far this year.
But there is one metric upon which House Republicans have been very productive: Taking meaningless votes. Yesterday, they cast the 38th and 39th votes to repeal Obamacare, as if by now Americans hadn't figured out where Republicans stand on the issue. In fact, the while the House passed fewer bills than any previous House during the last Congress, it actually cast the fifth-most votes ever.
So whether or not John Boehner wants to admit it, the fact is that his House is the least effective House ever at getting thing done—but one of the most prolific ever at political posturing.