Congress Has A Need for Speed

The word unprecedented has gotten thrown around a lot in politics but what Congress is attempting to do to get healthcare legislation passed quickly is truly unprecedented. For years many pieces of legislation have gotten back logged or bogged down by our nation’s apathetic Congress who would rather be reactive to issues than proactive. Thus with healthcare reform being closer to passing than any other time in our nation’s history, it is evident that political pressure is mounting for not only President Obama but Congress to get it done so they are possibly going to bypass usual negotiations between the two chambers in the interest of speed.

Congress has a need for speed when it comes to passing healthcare reform but let’s hope they use this same attitude to this year to create jobs that are really needed like never before in this nation. Let’s hope that Congress adopts this need for speed attitude when it comes to fixing our nation’s educational system and the horrible “No Child Left Behind” Act that not only left the money behind but left children behind not only academically but socially.

Congress is attempting to set a new precedent in our nation’s history when it comes to resolving pieces of legislation in the House and Senate that have significant and core differences. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Dick Durbin all spoke to President Obama on Tuesday either in person or by phone and agreed that Congress will not set up a formal conference committee to resolve differences between health bills passed last year by the House and Senate. Instead the House will simply work off the Senate’s version where they will amend it and send back to the Senate for final passage, in what some House leadership aides are saying.

Nonetheless, Congress is looking to speed through healthcare reform which can be a good thing and a bad thing but in terms of the bad, time will tell that. For now, Congress or should I say the Democrats want to get a final bill to Obama's desk before the State of the Union address sometime in early February which may boast for Democratic polling numbers as the 2010 election heats up. For now though, we the American people have to ask ourselves is speed what we want in these troubling times in our nation.

Does changing how Congress usually operate help us the American people in the short and long term since as the bills are written, major provisions of healthcare reform won’t go into effect until 3 or 4 years from now. Just look at what Congress did when they rushed through the unprecedented Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act or as some call it the stimulus package. While some supporters of the Act might say it worked, critics say it didn’t work but what neither side is saying is that the act worked in some areas but not in the most crucial area which is job creation.

If the stimulus package was any example of how the need for speed could backfire than Congressional leaders need to pay close attention so that healthcare legislation is strengthened to the best of Congress abilities since both versions are flawed in many ways. Since Congress will try to speed through healthcare reform by not going through the traditional steps that take place in the formal conference committee then let’s up this new precedent leads to Congress tackling other issues more quickly than usual. The time for bogging down important legislation in Congress is over and the need for action has never been more important than any other time in our nation’s history. However we the American people must understand that simply reacting to problems is just as bad as not doing anything. This is why Congress need for speed must also be accompanied with proactive ideas that deal with short and long term problems plaguing our nation. Otherwise speed in Congress just means we will temporarily fix decade old problems and pass these same old problems on to the next decade of leaders to see if they will come up with longevity solutions.