Congress Returns. Same Old, Same Old.

America’s lawmakers have returned to Washington. Under the rules, the session will be abbreviated because of the mid-term elections in November. So what can be expected? My guess is same old, same old.

For the House Republicans, the guiding principle must be “do no harm.” I don’t expect a repeat of last autumn, when the Republicans shut the government down over Obamacare. But the House Republicans are nothing if not ideologues so there could still be trouble. To keep the government working after September, the House has to pass a temporary spending bill. Provided the measures are free from add-ons objectionable to Republican ideology, such as funding contraception, the Senate will probably go along. If not, another shutdown is on the cards, in which event the Party blamed by the public will get an election-style smack.

For the Democrats, Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) has to help a number of endangered incumbents by introducing popular measures. Currently, Senate seats in Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina look like endangered species.

One way to motivate the Democrat core may be an open attack on campaign funding. Currently, two recent Supreme Court decisions, Citizens United and McCutcheon, have allowed a vast, unregulated flood of money to be poured into political campaigns. We’re talking billions of dollars. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) is leading the fight for a constitutional amendment to regulate campaign finance and stop corporations, unions and billionaire individuals from spending unlimited sums on political activity.

The measure may be popular with ordinary voters, depending on how it is promoted in the media. There seem to be equal numbers of wealthy people and institutions on both sides of the aisle, so handling the publicity could be awkward. Watch out for Mr Udall being portrayed as Don Quixote, fruitlessly tilting at Washington windmills in a hopeless cause. Let’s be frank. A constitutional amendment has no chance of success without a huge groundswell of popular support.

The Democrats will use the session to seek new laws on raising the minimum wage, making college more affordable and guaranteeing contraception coverage under Obamacare. These stand no chance of passing in the House but, once again, the failed measures may excite the core.

The Republicans will concentrate their attack on the administration with a special House hearing to investigate the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi. Has the State Department taken steps to improve securing embassies and posts? Expect embarrassing fireworks of a partisan, political nature.

This week, Congress will be asked to approve military action against ISL. I will defer commenting further until I see chapter and verse of the government’s proposals. However, Congress should also be looking at the Russian situation and, if nothing else, strengthening sanctions. I doubt it will do anything concrete.

So, little is likely to be accomplished in the short session but there will be plenty of political hot air. As William Shakespeare coined it, “Much Ado About Nothing.”