Allen West has said a number of controversial statements both before and after he was elected last month to Congress, defeating Democrat Ron Klein in their South Florida contest.
But we've got to give it up to West for his press release issued this morning, in which he blasts his GOP House colleagues for their astoundingly weak work ethic.
This is of course the same Congress that basically only works three days a week, a work culture that outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she would change when she took over in 2007, but there's little evidence that there's been an increase in Monday or Friday votes .
Let's face it – when you and I get a day off for say, Memorial Day, Congress always take a week off. They take most of August off, and look at what a big deal it is to actually have to work in November and December for them after the election – apparently there haven't historically been that many lame-duck sessions of Congress.
So this is what West said today when he looked at the calendar for 2011 in the House of Representatives:
In a letter written to House Majority-Elect Eric Cantor, West writes:
I have now had several days to review the Congressional Calendar and return to my District to
listen to many of my constituents’ views regarding the schedule for the First Session of the
112th Congress.
I believe this schedule does not sufficiently re?ect the concerns of the American people as
expressed on November 2nd.
The election demonstrated that the voters, including the citizens of the 22nd District of Florida,
wanted the United States Congress to aggressively address the many challenges facing our
nation. As we both know Congress needs to work to create jobs, reduce the de?cit, strengthen
our economy, limit the size of government, and contend with a plethora of national security
issues.
Even though the schedule contains 123 days and 32 weeks of session which is consistent with
?rst sessions in previous Congresses, I believe the citizens of this nation, as demonstrated by
their action at the ballot box this terms of scheduling – with the past.
Further, the schedule, as proposed, means the House of Representatives will not meet the mark
of 90 days in session until September of 2011, just a matter of days before the end of the Fiscal
Year. The American people expect the Congress to do a thorough review of our nation’s
spending priorities, and I believe the number of days in session do not provide an adequate
amount of time for such oversight.
I am sure we both agree that the issues before us today require the Members of Congress to go
beyond what has been the accepted practice in the past to meet the challenges of the future.
West's letter comes a day after Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyle complained about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying that Reid was attacking Christians by saying that the Senate may need to come back to vote on issues after Christmas.
"It is impossible to do all of the things that the majority leader laid out," Kyl said today, "frankly, without disrespecting the institution and without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and the families of all of the Senate, not just the senators themselves but all of the staff."
This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2010.