NOTE on the Democrats’ list of accomplishments: As of today, only 26 bills have been signed into law; the war funding bill that was carried by Republican votes will make 27.

The “new direction” Democrats have taken in the last five months breaks down as follows:

13 BILLS TO NAME FEDERAL PROPERTY & BUILD A ROAD

* H.R. 49 - To name the “Gerald R. Ford, Jr. Post Office Building”

* H.R. 335 - To name the “Gale W. McGee Post Office”
* H.R. 342 - To name the “Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Sr. United States Courthouse” [!!]
* H.R. 433 - To name the “Scipio A. Jones Post Office Building”
* H.R. 514 - To name the “Sergeant Lea Robert Mills Brooksville Aviation Branch Post Office”
* H.R. 521 - To name the “Lane Evans Post Office Building”
* H.R. 544 - To name the “Santiago E. Campos United States Courthouse”
* H.R. 577 - To name the “Sergeant Henry Ybarra III Post Office Building”
* H.R. 584 - To name the “Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building”
* H.R. 753 – To name the “Clifford Davis & Odell Horton Federal Building”
* H.R. 1129 - To build and maintain a road in St. Louis County, Missouri
* S.159 – To name the “Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area”
* S. 521 – To name the “Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building & United States Courthouse & Customhouse”

5 BILLS TO EXTEND PRE-EXISTING PUBLIC LAW OR PASSED LAST YEAR

* H.R. 137 – Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act (passed last year)
* H.R. 188 - To extend the Thomas Alva Edison Commemorative Coin Act
* H.R. 434 – To extend the Small Business Act and the Small business Investment Act of 1958
* H.R. 1003 – To extend the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
* H.J. Res. 20 - Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution

8 BILLS CO-SPONSORED BY REPUBLICANS OR PASSED WITHOUT OPPOSITION

* H.R. 475 - House Page Board Revision Act
* H.R. 727 – Trauma Care Systems Planning & Development Act
* H.R. 742 - Antitrust Modernization Commission Extension Act
* H.R. 1130 – Judicial Disclosure Responsibility Act
* H.R. 1132 - National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act
* H.R. 1681 – American National Red Cross Governance Modernization Act
* S. 494 – NATO Freedom Consolidation Act
* S. 1002 – Older Americans Reauthorization Technical Corrections Act

After five months of Democratic control, Congress has enacted no major legislation and finished no regular appropriations bill. It has successfully renamed six federal buildings and one national park, extended the lives of two government commissions and reduced the membership of the Red Cross board of governors from 50 to 10.

In addition, Congress kept the government going with temporary spending legislation, redesignated five Eastern European countries (Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, Georgia and Ukraine) for security aid, strengthened penalties against animal fighting and authorized construction of 541 feet of road in St. Louis County, Mo. An emergency bill financing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan was vetoed by President Bush before a bill acceptable to him was passed before the Memorial Day recess.

"We are making progress for the American people, governing effectively and getting results. Our work is not over, it has begun," said Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland.

"I've been here 26 years; I think this first five months may be the most productive five months that I've spent as a member of ... Congress," he said.