Class Action Reform and a Congress That Can't

On Wednesday, the Senate failed to agree on a process to complete work on a compromise bill to reform abuses of class action lawsuits. According to press reports, there will be another vote on Friday, but it's doubtful the bill can pass without a bipartisan agreement on amendments.

Republicans will blame Democrats for being obstructionists, and that's partly true. Democrats want to use the class action bill as a vehicle for a wide range of amendments -- topical and not -- which otherwise would not be considered in a gridlocked, mismanaged Congress.

However, the deeper fault lies with the Republican leadership, which has consistently failed to work in a bipartisan manner on bills that are important to the nation's well-being.

Congress appears destined to slouch out of town this fall with few lasting accomplishments and with the government operating mostly on an ad-hoc basis. An out-of-control autopilot, so to speak.

No budget, no budget process and spending rules, no meaningful tort reforms, no welfare reauthorization, no mid-course corrections on the Medicare drug benefit. No controls on entitlement spending, no long-term plan for taxes, no action on health care, no energy bill, few carefully considered appropriations bills, a "continuing resolution" to fund the government.

Even must-pass trade legislation designed to prevent U.S. producers from facing ever-higher tariffs, which passed both the House and Senate by wide margins, will seemingly be delayed until after the August recess and the political conventions.

Last month, the House botched its handling of a bill to improve the budget process, effectively shutting out from consideration the only bill -- the one sponsored by the conservative Blue Dog Democrats -- which was likely to garner enough votes to pass.

And it's not only Democrats who are complaining about the gridlock. According to an AP news report tonight, Republican Senator Larry Craig was deeply disappointed that his amendment to the class action bill was disallowed.

Because so little legislation is even considered, Senators and Representatives must try to get their pet initiatives "tacked on" to any bill that seems to be moving. This is why the so-called "FSC-ETI" trade bills included hundreds of extraneous provisions, and why Senators from both parties insist on offering amendments to the class action bill.

Even when it succeeds, the "tack on" amendment process is a recipe for poorly considered legislation. Congress is supposed to use the committee process to iron out problems and craft compromises in laws. Last-minute amendments are often badly drafted and ill considered. The political furor of the moment often trumps thoughtful analysis when the committee system is bypassed and legislation is rushed to sudden final votes.

When bills do pass, many of the "yes" votes are bought, not acquired by persuasion that good policy was being made. This Congress has elevated the use of expensive parochial or pork-barrel add-ons to purchase the votes of reluctant legislators.

The larger failure isn't a lack of bipartisanship, although that is a problem. The big problem is a lack of leadership.

First, this Congress and the Bush Administration have succeeded in politicizing everything, thereby fanning the flames of partisan bitterness and ensuring a paucity of bipartisan cooperation. Congressional leaders and the President seem persuaded that every issue should be a political issue, and that no problems can be solved without trying to stick it to the other party.

Second, the Bush Administration is essentially directionless on domestic policy.

This atmosphere is good for neither party, but it is most hurtful to Republicans since they control Congress and the White House.

But it really hurts the American people, who rightly blame hyper-partisanship and leadership failures for the fact that real problems -- like the abuse of class action lawsuits -- continue to go unaddressed.

Links:
Centrists.Org The FSC-ETI Bills Highlight the Need for Tax and Budget Reform (revised July 6, 2004)

Centrist Policy Network Moderate Republicans and Conservative Democrats Urge Tougher Budget Rules (March 31, 2004)

Posted by Jeff Lemieux at July 8, 2004 12:38 AM