I do not think a rebound says Thomas Mann

While the US Congress went on vacation last weekend and the US are in three months of the Bush mid-term elections, the results of the parliamentary session is considered at least "disappointing" for the Republican majority, especially on economic issues. No more than in 2005, the President's Party has failed in the past year to advance its major projects, such as reform of immigration, despite his control of both houses. "All the 109th Congress since the re-election of the President has been disappointing," said Dan Mitchell, of the Heritage Foundation, a think tank of right. "Politically, it is even a disaster", says Thomas Mann, specialist at the Brookings Institution, a think tank Democratic Congress. Republicans have little time to catch up. Congress will meet only a few weeks in the fall before the election break. After the elections, the Government will have less control over its elected representatives to the approach of the presidential election of 2008, George w. Bush cannot represent. "I do not think a rebound, says Thomas Mann." Even assisted by Henry Paulson as Secretary of the Treasury on economic issues, it has more capacity to pass his program.

At the end of last week, the Republican party successfully however at the last minute to pass a reform of the pensions of company. But he has failed to adopt an abolition of the tax on inheritance rights, it had yet paid high, according to some Republicans price, since it was proposed at the same time an increase of 40 of the minimum wage.

Too divided

Already, over the past months, too divided Republican party has failed to adopt a temporary worker for illegal immigrants status and two rooms always have to reconcile two different bills on immigration. The Congress, but rocked by a corruption scandal, has not failed to reform the practice of lobbying in depth and is not yet finalized agreement on a framework budgetary law. The status of the prisoners of the war against terrorism is not set. This year, finally, the Republican majority was able to confirm the appointment of two conservative judges to the Supreme Court. This is certainly the greatest legislative victory, "one that will have the greater effect in the long term", according to Thomas Mann. It has also managed to extend for two years cuts taxes on income from investments of Bush's first term. "This is its biggest economic success," according to Dan Mitchell. The law passed late 2005 limiting the growth of spending for social programs as pensions and pensioners health coverage "is not even a drop of water, but the fog compared to the ocean of the deficits of these programs. Before the summer 2005, a law making it more onerous bankruptcy reform making it more difficult to "class actions", energy reform and the Central America free trade agreement (Cafta) had been adopted. But these victories do not forget that the reform of the system of pension (Social Security) and the revision of the Tax Code, the two major domestic for the President on his re-election, were also pushed back and are even, according to many experts, buried to this Republican presidency.