Congress has only passed three laws this session. So what are they doing?

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03-06-2025

If Congress were a character in Mike Judge's cult classic 'Office Space," they'd be sweating bullets waiting for their meeting with the Bobs.
You remember the Bobs, right? The pair of efficiency experts were all about trimming the fat at Initech. Their go-to question, delivered with soul-crushing serenity, was simple: 'What would you say… you do here?'
Judging by the legislative output so far, we should be asking the same of our elected representatives in Congress. As of late May 2025, deep into the first session of the 119th Congress, our fearless political leaders have enacted exactly three – yes, T-H-R-E-E – laws and 11 regulatory disapproval resolutions. Those numbers aren't typos.
To be fair, legislating is complex. It's supposed to be deliberative. Not every problem needs a new federal law; in fact, most probably don't. But even as a conservative, I still want Congress to make laws which rein in the size and scope of the federal government.
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This government-by-executive-order from one president to the next is hogwash that creates economic and political whiplash. But three laws over five months suggests something beyond deliberation. It's political nihilism.
Of the enacted laws, the most recent was Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) TAKE IT DOWN Act. Another was the nothingburger measure to keep the government funded, and the other was the Laken Riley Act.
Good on Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama) and Cruz for demonstrating the ability to draft effective legislation, shepherd the measure through the House and Senate, and get the president to sign their bills.
Peter Gibbons' 'Office Space' epiphany is instructive here: "Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day long, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements."
Maybe members of Congress weren't meant to just sit in committee rooms, give fiery speeches to empty chambers for C-SPAN, rush to cable news studios, and fire off angry tweets.
Maybe, just maybe, they were meant to legislate.
The problem isn't necessarily that individual members aren't busy. Their schedules are packed, fundraisers are attended, and media hits are frequent. The problem is that all that activity produces nothing. It simply gives the illusion of effective leadership while office holders fail at their central task.
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We've traded substantive legislative work for performative outrage and B-list celebrity status. Congress increasingly resembles a reality TV show where the prize is reelection, not effective governance.
The only real difference between most Democrats and Republicans in Congress is whether they're clapping or booing for the current resident of the White House.
So, what's the fix? How do we get Congress back to doing… well, something?
One idea that keeps bubbling up is the REINS Act (Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act). The basic concept is straightforward: any major new regulation from the executive branch – i.e. rules with significant economic impact, often dreamed up by unelected bureaucrats – would require explicit approval from Congress before taking effect.
While primarily aimed at reining in the administrative state (a worthy goal in itself), the REINS Act could have a side effect: forcing Congress to take more ownership. If agencies can't just issue sweeping edicts on their own, Congress might feel more pressure to actually debate and pass laws addressing the issues those regulations were meant to tackle.
It puts the legislative ball back squarely in Congress's court. The legislation would spell it out for them: "This is your job."
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) recently had the audacity to tell the truth and suggest that Congress, not the president, must hold the power of taxation. President Donald Trump's tariff gamble is entirely predicated on a gross delegation of authority from Congress and a funky declaration of a national emergency.
If Congress agrees with Trump's reimagination of the global economy, it should enact the tariff policies with an actual law. It could be number six. Then we'd at least be counting on two hands.
We also need a way to differentiate between the workhorses and the show ponies. Maybe it's time we started calculating a legislative 'batting average' for members of Congress. Forget just counting how many bills someone introduces — that's like judging a baseball player by how many times they swing the bat, regardless of whether they hit anything.
Instead, let's look at the ratio: How many bills did Representative X or Senator Y introduce or meaningfully co-sponsor compared to how many actually became law?
No, it won't capture all the effort in Congress. Sometimes important work happens behind the scenes. Leaders shape bills without being the prime sponsor. A member champions a vital cause that faces impossible political headwinds. We should be honest about those efforts.
But a batting average could offer a clue. It would help voters distinguish between those diligently working to craft passable legislation and those who specialize in filing "messaging bills" designed solely to generate fundraising emails and rile up the base, with zero chance of ever becoming law. It might incentivize members to focus on building consensus and achieving tangible results, rather than just grabbing headlines.
We wouldn't tolerate 'Office Space'-level productivity in most jobs. We expect results. Yet, we seem to have accepted a Congress where tough talk is the norm and actual lawmaking is a rare exception.
It's time we, the constituents, became our own version of the Bobs, asking calmly but firmly: "What would you say… you do here?"
We must demand answers that involve more than pointing fingers and cashing campaign checks. Passing three laws isn't cutting it. That's all Congress is doing here. Don't let them tell you otherwise.
USA TODAY Network Tennessee Columnist Cameron Smith is a Memphis-born, Brentwood-raised recovering political attorney raising four boys in Nolensville, Tennessee, with his particularly patient wife, Justine. Direct outrage or agreement to [e-mail] or @DCameronSmith on Twitter. Agree or disagree? Send a letter to the editor to [e-mail]
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Congress isn't doing its job. We deserve to know why | Opinion