How to tell it's election year: congressional inertia on the horizon

Published: 2004-04-08

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- It's only April, but Congress may already have slipped into its pre-election mode, as key legislation looks to be stalling out in ways usually not seen until summer during election years. Welfare reauthorization and immigration bills that are key parts of the legislative agenda of Catholic organizations could be among the victims of congressional inertia. In February 2003, Sharon Daly, vice president for social policy at Catholic Charities USA, lamented that after languishing the previous year legislation to reauthorize the federal welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, known as TANF, was being rushed through the House. Daly complained that a major piece of legislation that affects millions of people and involves billions of dollars was being shoved along without a single public hearing at which interested organizations such as hers could discuss what does and doesn't work about the existing law.

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