Hello this is Congressman John Dingell and welcome to my podcast.

Napoleon Bonaparte once said “If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.” This seems to be the motto of the Republican-led 109th Congress. Despite the fact that they control the White House and both bodies of Congress by a comfortable majority, Republicans have done nothing to address the real problems facing American families. Moreover, the Republican rubber-stamp Congress has neglected its oversight responsibilities not just by turning a blind eye to executive branch activities, but by giving the President carte-blanche authority over the federal government – reminiscent of the absolute power seized by Napoleon.

The following are just a few examples of the failures of the 109th Congress:

Ř Oversight on Iraq reconstruction

Since 2003, the country has given approximately $30 billion to private contractors for reconstruction and rebuilding in Iraq. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been misused and billions have been lost or stolen. And despite the constant stream of money into Iraq, Baghdad only has electricity for a few hours a day, clean water is not readily available and oil production is still lower than prewar levels. Despite the obvious need for oversight, this do-nothing Congress has refused to launch a thorough investigation of this shameful squandering of taxpayer dollars.

In fact, the first full committee hearing on Iraq reconstruction during the 109th Congress was held just last week – the last week of the session. Through this hearing, some of the most atrocious failures of the reconstruction effort were finally revealed. One example is the Baghdad Police College, a $75-million-dollar facility intended as a showcase for US efforts to train Iraqi security forces. Unfortunately, the building is a human health hazard, where human waste is literally dripping from the ceilings. This is a failure of the greatest magnitude and exactly opposite impression we should be giving the Iraqis and the rest of the world about our ambitious reconstruction plans.

Ř Raising the Minimum Wage

For the past nine years, millions of American workers and their families have been waiting for a pay raise. Instead, the minimum wage remains at $5.15 per hour, meaning a full time worker earns $10,700 each year. In contrast, the average CEO earns 821 times more – meaning that he or she rakes in more before lunchtime than the minimum wage worker earns in an entire year. Republicans have failed once again to address this inequity.

Ř Federal Budget and Appropriations

For only the fourth time since 1974, Congress failed to pass a budget resolution governing spending and revenues. Moreover, Congress has only sent two out of 11 total appropriations bills to the President. Meanwhile, the Republicans’ inability to set wise fiscal priorities took a government budget surplus of $128 billion in 2001 and transformed it into three of the worst deficits in history – yet they still have no plan to balance the budget. At the end of September, the World Economic Forum released a report concluding that the US economy has slipped from first to sixth in global competitiveness, in part because of our large deficits and mounting debt.

Ř Improving healthcare

The number of uninsured Americans reached a record high of 46 million this year. Yet Republicans have done no are still attempting to cut important healthcare programs such as Medicaid and the National Institutes of Health.

In addition, in late September, Medicare beneficiaries began losing coverage under the Medicare prescription drug program due to a gap in coverage known as the “donut hole.” Nearly 7 million seniors and people with disabilities who receive Medicare are estimated to fall into the donut hole. Meanwhile, drug companies stand to gain $139 billion under the Republican Medicare bill. The 109th Congress missed the opportunity to help seniors by fixing the donut hole.

Instead of taking action, this Congress has spent its limited days in session squabbling about whether or not to allow gay marriage and horse slaughter, naming post offices, ensuring that household pets are accounted for in case of a disaster, and intruding on private family medical affairs. Meanwhile, they provide nothing but lip service about issues that really matter – including the economy, jobs and healthcare. America deserves better than a Congress that is all talk and no action.

This is John Dingell. Thank you for listening.