First bills of new Congress are often odd -- and old
- Lawmakers introduced about 200 bills in the first two days of the new Congress
- Many are simple "message" bills with no hope of passing
- A gun-control bill was the first of the 113th Congress
WASHINGTON -- In a kind of legislative throat-clearing, lawmakers kicked off the new Congress last week by introducing dozens of oddball bills that have no chance of becoming law -- they are merely intended to get our attention.
Rep. José Serrano, D-N.Y., proposed eliminating presidential term limits; Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., offered a bill to return the United States to a currency tied to gold; and a handful of bills were proposed to cut congressional pay, pensions and other benefits.
Many of the 200 or so bills introduced in the first two days of the 113th Congress are simply new versions of old legislation that went nowhere in previous sessions of Congress. Most of these bills generally appear intended to make a political point, not make new law.
For instance, Serrano's term-limits bill -- which he has introduced in every Congress since 1997 -- would have to be approved by the Congress, then ratified by three-fourths of the states to repeal the constitutional amendment that limited presidents to two terms.
On the other side of the political spectrum, Rep. Rob Woodall, a Georgia Republican, introduced a measure Thursday to eliminate the IRS, do away with income taxes and create instead a national consumption tax. Woodall seems to recognize that the bill is not going anywhere – his measure of progress is that he has more co-sponsors on the bill this time than in previous years – but, he said, "the momentum is building for fundamental tax reform, and it's fueled by the American people."
Broun's bill to put the nation back on the gold standard was one of two bills he introduced last week that had been championed by Rep. Ron Paul, who retired from Congress after losing his second bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
In laying out his priorities for the new Congress, Broun wanted to start by championing some of Paul's favorite bills, because he "didn't want them to die down," spokeswoman Meredith Griffanti said. "Moving forward, my plan is to pick up right where Congressman Paul left off," Broun said in a statement.
Rep. Barbara Lee of California and a handful of other liberal Democrats proposed a bill to repeal the 2001 congressional authorization for the use of military force to respond to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Lee, who was the only member of Congress to vote against the original authorization, said in a statement, "Over the last 11 years, this broad authorization of force has had far-reaching implications which shake the very foundations of our great nation and democracy," including warrantless wiretaps and "borderless and open-ended war that threatens to indefinitely extend U.S. military engagement around the world."
Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., introduced a bill to eliminate a 1954 law that prohibits non-profit organizations from directly endorsing or opposing political candidates, a prohibition that Jones contends was designed to shut churches and pastors out of politics and violates their First Amendment rights.
Jones has introduced version of the same legislation for years, and Jones spokeswoman Catherine Fodor said that is part of why he raised it again on the first day of the 113th Congress. "It's something he has worked on for a long time, and he wanted to get it out there and generate as much support as he can," she said.
A large part of a member of Congress' job is to "take a position on things," said Don Kettl, dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland.
The opening days of a new Congress become the perfect time to announce positions because "there is not a whole lot of news to compete with" and the statement may actually get some attention, Kettl said. "It is a way to signal to people back home that 'I am working on things,' " and to highlight issues their representative is concerned about, even if the bills are destined to go nowhere, he said.
There is some symbolic value to be the first bill of the congressional session.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., announced on Twitter that she had introduced the first bill of the 113th Congress to repeal Obamacare, and some news outlets interpreted that to mean that hers was the first bill of the new Congress. It was not.
That honor belongs to Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., who introduced legislation to impose new gun controls that he claims even most National Rifle Association members support, such as mandatory background checks for all gun sales and gun shop employees. The bill is H.R. 21 – bill numbers 1-20 have not yet been assigned. The first 10 are reserved for majority leadership to attach to their priority bills; the next 10 are for minority leadership.