WASHINGTON, November 5 (RIA Novosti) – The new US Congress is likely to remain sharply divided on major policy issues, but the pressure of the upcoming 2016 presidential elections will likely force both Republicans and Democrats to pass legislation and avoid being another "do-nothing" Congress, experts told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
"The Republicans cannot afford to be a do-nothing Congress, because that opens the door to the Democratic [presidential] candidate running against a Republican do-nothing Congress," John Zogby, the political polling expert and founder of the famous Zogby Poll told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
Both Republicans and Democrats stand to gain from pursuing a more active domestic agenda, explained Zogby.
He added that the president must work through the agenda the new Congress puts before him "for his legacy," and the two parties must find common ground "in order to be competitive in 2016."
It is unlikely, however, that the parties will work together on more substantial and contentious domestic issues like immigration, the Affordable Care Act, and environmental policies, John Fortier, political analyst and director of the Democracy Project told RIA Novosti.
"We shouldn't expect that there will be great agreement between the parties on the big issues [because] both parties are looking and thinking maybe [they] can be in charge of everything in 2016," Fortier commented, noting the slim possibility that one party might take the US Senate, House of Representatives and Presidency in 2016.
"I think it's a limited number of things that might get done," he continued, saying it is possible that the new Congress could produce bipartisan legislation on international trade issues, corporate tax reform, and providing additional support and resources to US President Barack Obama in the war against the Islamic State in the Middle East.
The new Congress will also have to negotiate a budget, a process that almost led to the 2013 government shutdown by the divided House and Senate of the 113th Congress, Fortier said.
The 113th Congress has passed fewer bills than previous congresses going back to 1973 according to GovTrack.us, an official US website that tracks legislative activity. With only 15 scheduled legislative days left in the session, the current Congress has only passed 185 bills.
The original coining of the phrase "do-nothing Congress" was by US President Harry S. Truman to chastise the 80th Congress for passing 906 bills. That number is almost two thirds greater than the average number of bills passed in the terms of the past three congresses.
