Gonegress: Legislators Need a Vacation from Wrecking the Country
America has grown accustomed to a Congress that seems incapable of getting out of its own way. When lawmakers are in Washington, they produce massive spending bills, expand the federal bureaucracy, and saddle future generations with even more debt. There are times when legislative gridlock is actually a blessing. But as political commentator and RAV Television host Jeff Crouere argues, there is one responsibility Congress cannot simply walk away from—and that’s exactly what it’s doing as members head home for another extended vacation.
- Can’t vacation from its constitutional duty to declare war.
- Iran demands debate, not legislative disappearance.
- Expands executive power by refusing to exercise its own authority.
- Working or resting, legislators keep failing the American people.
- War powers belong to Congress, not an increasingly unchecked presidency.
Today’s lawmakers have become increasingly comfortable outsourcing that constitutional duty to the ether, if not the White House. As military tensions with Iran continue to dominate America’s foreign policy, Congress has chosen not to debate, deliberate, or vote. Instead, it chose recess.
Congress does the Impossible
That contradiction is at the heart of Crouere’s latest commentary. While Americans often complain that the legislative branch causes more problems than it solves, this is one instance where inaction is even worse than bad legislation. The legislative branch isn’t merely failing to govern—it’s abandoning one of its core constitutional responsibilities. Whether members support military action against Iran or oppose it, they owe the American people an open debate and a recorded vote. Instead, they avoid accountability altogether while allowing the executive branch to shoulder powers the Constitution explicitly reserved for the legislative branch.
Available for interviews, Crouere can discuss how this has become equally ineffective whether it’s working or not. When lawmakers are in session, they frequently burden Americans with more spending, more regulation, and more dysfunction. When they’re out of session, they neglect the very duties only Congress can perform. In the case of Iran, that failure isn’t an example of prudent restraint—it’s a dangerous abdication of constitutional authority.
Is this simply another congressional vacation, or has America’s legislative branch become so addicted to avoiding difficult decisions that it no longer functions as a co-equal branch of government? Crouere explains why Congress’s greatest failure may no longer be what it does—but what it refuses to do.
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Amid Chaos, Congress Takes Another Vacation
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- If Congress alone has the constitutional authority to declare war, why has it become so willing to surrender that responsibility to the president?
- Has Congress created a dangerous precedent by allowing presidents of both parties to wage military campaigns without formal declarations of war?
- Why are lawmakers leaving Washington while the possibility of a wider conflict with Iran remains unresolved?
- Is Congress avoiding a vote on Iran because members fear being held politically accountable by voters?
- Why is congressional “restraint” admirable when it comes to passing bad legislation, but unacceptable when it comes to fulfilling constitutional duties?
- Has Congress become equally ineffective whether it’s in session or on recess—making bad policy when working and abandoning its responsibilities when not?
- What did the Founders intend by giving Congress, rather than the executive branch, the exclusive power to declare war?
- What are the long-term consequences for America’s constitutional system if Congress continues to abdicate its war powers to the presidency?
ABOUT JEFF CROUERE…
Jeff Crouere is a popular political analyst, columnist and radio and television personality. Since January of 1999, he has been the host of Ringside Politics, an award-winning radio program in New Orleans dedicated to examining the top issues of the day on the local, state, national and international levels. The radio show airs weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM, Wgso.com and the “Mixlr” Radio App. The Television version airs on Saturday Afternoons on Real America’s Voice (RAV)
Crouere provides regular commentaries at Townhall and on www.Crouere.net
To schedule an interview with Crouere, email Bookings@SpecialGuests.com or call / text 512-966-0983
