I’m impressed by the comments on H.R. 7297, the Emergency Automobile Industry American Jobs Protection Act of 2008, and encourage you to take a look.

I noted the bill in this week’s WashingtonWatch.com Digest (subscribe here) and spurred knowledgeable and opinionated people to share their thinking on the idea of a “Big Three” bailout.

There’s lots of blame to go around. Some blame management for collecting huge salaries and bonuses. Some blame labor for demanding salaries and benefits beyond what the market will bear. Apparently, there’s a Ford plant closing in Mexico, yet the workers there will get higher-than-normal severance benefits. An interesting comment points to the relationships between the auto companies and the dealerships, which may tie automakers into producing unprofitable lines.

Maybe among advocates of a government bailout for private industry, everybody’s all wet. Thanks to WashingtonWatch.com’s visitors for making their knowledge and thinking available to others.

A new bill in the Senate would outlaw the selling and counterfeiting of tickets to the inauguration.

D’ya actually think it was legal before? No, counterfeiting and selling tickets to an event like that is common law fraud, which is illegal everywhere.

But it’s nice to see some new bills after so many weeks off. We were already past 10,000 bills before Congress went home to campaign. I never thought I would want to see another bill introduced.

But here’s the fresh new crop. Along with the inauguration ticket counterfeiting bill, there’s a couple on the financial crisis/bailout, a couple economic stimulus/unemployment, and the usual randoms:

S. 3683
A bill to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to require approval by the Congress for certain expenditures for the Troubled Asset Relief Program

S. 3684
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow an above-the-line deduction against individual income tax for interest in indebtedness and for State sales and excise taxes with respect to the purchase of certain motor vehicles

S. 3685
A bill to prohibit the selling and counterfeiting of tickets for a Presidential inaugural ceremony

S. 3686
A bill to establish an Office of Foreclosure Evaluation to coordinate the responsibilities of the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and other Federal Government entities regarding foreclosure prevention, and for other purposes

S. 3687
A bill to prohibit the admission of an alien who was detained as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba unless the President determines that such admission is consistent with the national security of the United States, and for other purposes

S. 3688
A bill to provide for additional emergency unemployment compensation, to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to authorize loans to automobile manufacturers and component suppliers, and for other purposes

S. 3689
A bill making supplemental appropriations for job creation and preservation, infrastructure investment, and economic and energy assistance for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes

S. 3690
A bill to help struggling families stay in their homes and to ensure that taxpayers are protected when the Secretary of the Treasury purchases equity shares in financial situations

You can always see the most recently introduced bills and the most recently updated by clicking on the “Newest” tab on the homepage.

An interesting item showed up in yesterday’s post about all the new laws enacted in the waning days of Congress’ regular session: the repeal of an old law.

That doesn’t happen very often. Have you ever heard of a Member of Congress promising to repeal laws once in office? No, the vast majority come to pass new laws - and that’s precisely what they do.

The repealed law required salvagers off the coast of Florida to have a license. No longer. Any one of us could go down there and do some salvaging anytime without getting anyone’s say-so. Feel freer? I know I do!

Here’s the text of the repealed law:

§ 80102. License to salvage on Florida coast

(a) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.–To be regularly employed in the business of salvaging on the coast of Florida, a vessel and its master each must have a license issued by a judge of the district court of the United States for a judicial district of Florida.

(b) JUDICIAL FINDINGS.–Before issuing a license under this section, the judge must be satisfied, when the license is for–

(1) a vessel, that the vessel is seaworthy and properly equipped for the business of saving property shipwrecked and in distress; or
(2) a master, that the master is trustworthy and innocent of any fraud or misconduct related to property shipwrecked or saved on the coast.

If you think Washington politics is restricted to the debates among politicians, think again.

Politics pervades everything. Washington is a gurgling swamp of people grasping for power and pursuing their varied interests. People don’t just get together and agree on the best policies for the country and move forward with them.

A comment here on the site has reminded me once again of how pervasively political this town is.

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Word on the street is that Congress will come back in on November 17th to do some post-election business. The respite gives us time to look at some of the bills hustled across the House floor while we were concentrating on the big stuff.

Though there might be more silliness when Congress comes back, this is the final one in this set of “Silly Season” posts. Here are the previous installments: Silly Season on Capitol Hill; Silly Season, Part Deux; Silly Season, Part C; and Silly Season, Part IV.

Here are some of the bills that saw action on the House floor Thursday and Friday last week. It wasn’t the silliest period compared to a few days earlier but, again, these bills could have been debated at any time, not just the last two days of the regular session:

H.R. 5159
The Capitol Visitor Center Act of 2008
Costs: $1.51 per family

S. 3641
A bill to authorize funding for the National Crime Victim Law Institute to provide support for victims of crime under Crime Victims Legal Assistance Programs as a part of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984

H.R. 7221
The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008

S. 3197
The National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008
Costs: $0.00 per family

H.R. 5714
The United States Army Commemorative Coin Act of 2008

H.R. 6867
The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008

S. 602
The Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007
Costs: $0.00 per family

H.R. 6469
The Organ Transplant Authorization Act of 2008

S. 3197
The National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008
Costs: $0.00 per family

H.R. 7222
To extend the Andean Trade Preference Act, and for other purposes

Monday was another day with a cavalcade of bills streaming through the House of Representatives.

While you were watching the bailout (just at the moment I’m posting this, the House is debating the rule that would govern its debate on the Senate-passed bailout bill), or perhaps noting the beginning of the new fiscal year without a budget for most federal agencies, Congress was passing bills on half the things under the sun.

[Previous posts in this series: Silly Season on Capitol Hill; Silly Season, Part Deux; and Silly Season, Part C.]

Here are some of the bills that saw action on the House floor Monday:

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The Senate passed bailout legislation this evening by a vote of 74 to 25. Senators McCain and Obama both voted for it, as did Senator Biden. National Journal has a good story on the wheeling, dealing, and lobbying that pushed the Senate in favor.

It’s unclear whether the goodies added to the bill “sweeten” it in a way that will get it through the House, or if the backscratching represented by the bill coming out of the Senate will give more offense to the public and House members who opposed the bailout.

Without specific information about what is in the package passed in the Senate, it is impossible to estimate the cost of the overall bill. But it is large.

Below is the vote in the Senate. If you don’t know which Senators are yours, find the name of a U.S. state on the front of an envelope that has been delivered to your house, then find that state below . . . .

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Silly season on Capitol Hill. It’s that special time of year when Congress nears the end of its scheduled session and decides to do all its work at once. Dozens of bills fly across the House floor with little debate.

They’re not all bad bills, but nothing prevented Congress from addressing them at a careful pace all through the winter, spring, and summer.

This year has been particularly silly, as Congress didn’t even try to follow its annual budgeting and spending process. It just passed a temporary measure on the fly, funding the government through the first half of the fiscal year in one big bill.

Then along came the financial services crisis. (Or is it a “crisis”? I’m less and less sure that it’s a crisis for anyone more than the investment bankers who overextended themselves.)

Smack dab at the end of the session, right when members want to go home and campaign, they have to think about a $700 bailout of the financial services industry. (Text of the proposal that failed Monday is here.)

Congress comes back Thursday - maybe to consider another bailout proposal. Don’t lose focus on that issue just yet!

But for the moment, let’s take a look at some of what the Congress did while we focused on everything else that Congress was doing. These are the bills that went to the floor of the House of Representatives on Saturday. The bills that were on the House floor last Thursday and Friday are here and here. Monday’s bills coming soon:
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Congress has all the planning skills and foresight of a teenager.

Y’know how when mom and dad are coming back from their weekend away, the kid tries to do all the chores for the weekend in the last hour? That’s Congress.

So as we wrap up the current Session, Congress is racing to do all the things it should have done all year long. Members are throwing every pet project they’ve got at the leadership, hoping to get it through before the Congress ends.

Sure, we’ve got spending decisions for fiscal year 2009, and this financial services bailout, but let’s try to get through dozens of other bills at the same time.

Here’s a look at all the bills that were on the House floor just yesterday. Lots of them are simple and straightforward, but nothing kept Congress from addressing them all through the year.

Congress waited until the last minute and most assuredly isn’t showing these bills, or the really big issues before it, the care it should. We citizens haven’t gotten much of a chance to look them over either.

H.R. 3018
The Family Self-Sufficiency Act of 2007

H.R. 3402
The Calling Card Consumer Protection Act

H.R. 3232
The Travel Promotion Act of 2007

H.R. 6950
The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Gift of Life Medal Act of 2008

H.R. 1014
The Heart Disease Education, Analysis Research, and Treatment for Women Act

H.R. 6946
To make a technical correction in the NET 911 Improvement Act of 2008

H.R. 1343
The Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007
Costs $102.88 per family

S. 2932
The Poison Center Support, Enhancement, and Awareness Act of 2008

S. 1810
The Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act
Costs $0.17 per family

S. 1382
The ALS Registry Act
Costs $0.62 per family

H.R. 6568
The Tom Lantos Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Education Act of 2008

H.R. 6901
The Meth Free Families and Communities Act

H.R. 6469
The Organ Transplant Authorization Act of 2008

H.R. 1157
The Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2007

H.R. 758
The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007
Costs $0.00 per family

H.R. 4544
The Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2007

H.R. 4120
The Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act of 2007

H.R. 6045
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2008

S. 1046
The Senior Professional Performance Act of 2007
Costs $0.05 per family

S. 928
The Homeowners Protection Act of 2007

If you want to see a controversial bill on which there are strong opinions on both sides, check out H.R. 6598, The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008.

The proponents of the bill (opponents of horse slaughter) feel very passionately about the cruelty to the animals that may occur during slaughter, and many feel that the proponents of horse slaughter are wrongly treating a beautiful animal as a commodity.

Opponents of the bill see horse slaughter as a necessary evil, and more humane than seeing these animals uncared for, abandoned, and left to starve. Many point out that over-breeding of horses is a problem that requires horse slaughter to continue.

(Partisans on either side: If I’ve mischaracterized your position, feel free to comment below. And be nice about it. Don’t let your passion control you.)

Speaking of passion, as occasionally happens on controversial bills, there are allegations of vote manipulation. Given some advanced technical knowledge, it is possible to vote multiple times, but it takes a lot of work. To be sure, the votes on bills are an unscientific poll.

What’s interesting about any potential vote-riggers is that they have completely missed the point of debating about legislation on a site like this. If the vote goes their way, they get precisely . . . nothing.

What matters is influencing others, using careful and patient comments, using the wiki-editable articles about the bill, and so on. (Here’s where to start editing the article for H.R. 6598.)

Voting is an important outlet for people who want to quickly register their opinion, and people should encourage others to come vote as a starting point for getting involved more substantively, but voting is not something to fixate on.

Anyway, overall this is a very productive debate. Going over the comments, you can see merit in the arguments on both sides and you can see why the issue is so divided. Horses generate a lot of passion, that’s for sure.

Here’s where the voting stands right now. (But please remember, it’s only one part of the influence process!) Click to vote, learn more, or edit the wiki article about the bill.