If you are to believe Congressman Katko’s Washington DC talk – he’s a hero for passing two bills in Congress today. The Post Standard reports that it is “an early achievement less than two months into his career in Congress” because he “succeeded in maneuvering the bills to a vote on the House floor.”
The truth is Katko’s bills had already passed UNANIMOUSLY in the last Congress. Oops. Republican leaders just chose him to get credit for something they knew was going to happen.
“Congressman Katko’s been in Washington for just over a month but he’s already well steeped in DC speak and getting propped up by Republican leaders,” said Josh Schwerin of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Speaker Boehner and Republican Leaders are such fans of Congressman Katko that they let him put his name on work that the last Congress passed unanimously so he could send a press release – but they knew all along these bills were guaranteed passage. Congressman Katko will crow loudly about passing a bill, but he should hope his constituents don’t notice that he’s taking credit for something that would have happened with or without him. Congressman Katko has proven he’ll fit right in with Republicans in Washington – even redoing things they’ve already done – but voters in Syracuse won’t be so easily fooled.”
BACKGROUND
Katko Taking Credit For Someone Else’s Work; Legislation Already Passed Unanimously Last Year. According to the Post-Standard, “Katko’s bills moved quickly because similar versions of each passed under unanimous House voice votes in the previous Congress in 2014. But both the Gerardo Hernandez Security Act of 2014 (H.R. 4802) and the TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 4803) failed to make it out of the Democratic-controlled Senate last year. The bills had to be reintroduced this year because all pending legislation dies when a new Congress convenes every two years.” [Syracuse Post-Standard, 2/10/15]