Word: congresses
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...summer vacation is supposed to give people a lift, then the nation's lawmakers might just as well have skipped the August recess and stayed in Washington. Said Massachusetts Republican Representative Silvio Conte as he returned to the Hill last week with his colleagues: "Congress is in an ugly mood. The members have been home and they got the message." Said New York Republican Congressman Barber Conable: "The mood is one of grim determination. The members are ready to get on with it and are looking for a tough fall...
...these matters, but they are not quite sure how. Hardly had they returned to their offices when the President started pressuring them to pass his energy program. At a senior staff meeting early in the week in the Roosevelt Room, Carter told his aides to put the heat on Congress. "When there's unfavorable committee action," he said, "we ought to call it exactly as it is." A top aide later warned that the White House may have to start playing rough with legislators who do not cooperate. "We haven't kicked anybody around yet," he said...
...following morning Carter breakfasted with Democratic Congressional leaders in the same room. Said he of his energy package: "The people want it. If we can't have an effective energy bill, I don't deserve to be re-elected and the Congress doesn't deserve to be re-elected." That was a bit much for Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, who has not indicated whether he will support Carter for a second term. Congress, protested Byrd, should not be judged on a single issue. "This is no time to suggest any such thing," he said...
What to do about the economy is just as baffling. Carter and Congress are being pulled in two incompatible directions. While inflation continues to roar along at an annual rate of 13%, the clouds of recession are fast gathering. Tight fiscal and monetary policies that can curb inflation may aggravate unemployment. "Poor Carter," said an aide. "He can't even get the timing of the recession to break in his favor. If the economy were really going soft now, he would solve it with some stimulus this fall and the recession might be over by spring. Instead of that...
Carter may not even be able to stimulate the economy when he wants to; the choice is not entirely his. Many members of Congress continue to regard inflation as enemy number one. Says Bob Giaimo, chairman of the House Budget Committee: "Some Democrats are talking about incentives and stimulants. I don't think they're reading the tea leaves right." Carter may also find the Federal Reserve balkier than before. Its new chairman, Paul Volcker, is a more determined inflation fighter than his predecessor, William Miller, who is now Treasury Secretary...