Well, This Would Give Them More Time To Play

George Will brings our attention to a staggeringly horrific idea being considered by Congress.

The awful idea is for Congress to divest itself of the core competence that the Constitution vests in it -- the power to make the taxing and spending choices that shape the nation. This power would be given to an 18-member panel assigned to solve the budgetary crisis.

Under legislation drafted by Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and endorsed by 33 other senators, the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action would be composed of 16 members of Congress (four each selected by the House speaker and minority leader, and the Senate majority and minority leaders) plus the Treasury secretary and someone the president selects. The panel would propose spending cuts and tax increases to put the government on a glide path to solvency. The menu of proposals would be guaranteed an up-or-down vote -- no amendments permitted -- in both houses of Congress.

Under this law, they wouldn't even be expected to pass rational budgets. They could do absolutely anything they wanted. This is insane. The Republic has been in existence for over 230 years. Never, in all that time, has Congress been absolved of this duty. It's pathetic. Drafting a rational budget is their freaking job.

On the plus side, removing the hard parts of budget crafting would give them more time for other things. I think Congress would start to look something like this.

Here, we see congresscritters running and squealing with delight as they pass laws regulating transfat consumption, oil-fuel mixtures in lawnmowers, speed limits for ski boats, sharpness ratings for kitchen knives, carport safety standards, roofing tar odor limitations, tax breaks for artists who work in lanolin or wool, extending Head Start to age 3 2 1, building a lesbian Eskimo conference Center in Montana, making it illegal to use dog collars for the purpose of ...