Congress shocker! Actually spending time to do their job

Congress shocker! Actually spending time to do their job
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Sunlight Foundation, the gov't accountability and transparency leaders, got the scoop in Welcome Back, Congress:

The House and Senate worked more days in 2009 than they have in anyyear since 1995, when the Republican party took control of both housesof Congress. This only became clear after reviewing data contained in arecently released report on congressional activity [PDF], which provides a wealth of statistics. Among the highlights:

  • Last year, the Senate met for 191 days, and the House met for 159days. Total time in session was 1,420 and 1,247 hours, respectively.
  • More than 9,071 measures were introduced, of which 1,444 passed.
  • Looking strictly at non-military nominations, 89% (or 3,222)nominations were confirmed; 4% (126) remain unconfirmed; and 0.4% (15)were withdrawn. Overall, the Senate received 24,951 nominations andconfirmed 23,051.

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