Sometimes in a town this productive Congress lacks the participation to get the basics done. With all the hype around who will surge ahead after the Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina primaries, there’s little time left to think about all the votes Presidential Candidates are missing while out on the circuit. The candidates torn between Washington and the campaign trail are: Senators: Clinton (D-NY), Obama (D-IL), Biden (D-DE), Dodd (D-CT) and McCain (R-AZ). The Representatives taking a shot at the Presidency while working on Capitol Hill are: Duncan (R- CA), Paul (R-TX), and Tancredo (R- CO). As reported by The Washington Post’s Jonathan Weisman and Paul Kane, McCain has missed more than 53 percent of roll call votes in 2007. What’s more, Biden, Dodd and Obama have missed more than a third of all votes this year. Clinton has missed 18 percent on votes this year. To see for yourself, check out the Post’s Congressional voting database.A handful of bills are heating up and will require discipline and teamwork to finish before Christmas break, when all of the Members will fly out of the District for their respective homes. At the top of the agenda is the alternative minimum tax patch and almost a dozen appropriation bills that actually fund the work of the government. If that doesn’t get passed, government workers risk getting paid. Other bills that might not make the deadline and will be front and center for when the 110th Congress returns in 2008 is the Energy and Farm Bills and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
