Congress鈥檚 real reason for passing a budget? The smell of 'jet fumes'
'Jet fumes' is shorthand for lawmakers鈥� fierce desire to get to D.C.-area airports. It often drives legislative business 鈥� and that鈥檚 not a good trend, a former senator says.
'Jet fumes' is shorthand for lawmakers鈥� fierce desire to get to D.C.-area airports. It often drives legislative business 鈥� and that鈥檚 not a good trend, a former senator says.
Members of Congress routinely scramble to Washington-area airports after less-than-taxing legislative gatherings. In this year鈥檚 lame-duck session, with about 10 percent of the House and Senate heading out the door for good, the smell of 鈥渏et fumes鈥� 鈥� the shorthand for lawmakers鈥� universal yearning to hop on a plane 鈥� has intensified.
Jet fumes have proven to be a magic elixir in overcoming many a congressional impasse. With holiday plans beckoning, members of Congress don鈥檛 want to be stuck in D.C. any longer than necessary 鈥� particularly short-timers.
When NBC News鈥� Luke Russert was asked this week about the prospects for the so-called 鈥渃romnibus鈥� spending bill funding government agencies in the Senate, he said on Twitter that senators 鈥渨ere starting to smell the jet fumes, [it鈥檚] been a long year of trench warfare for these guys.鈥� Similarly, CQ Roll Call reporter Steven Dennis observed a month ago that 鈥淴mas jet fumes are some of the most powerful jet fumes.鈥�
But the lure of jet fumes doesn鈥檛 always prevail. Two years earlier, members of Congress were still in town for the lame-duck session of the 112th Congress all the way to Jan. 1, 2013, due to debate over how to extend the Bush-era tax cuts that expired on Dec. 31, 2012.聽
And during President Obama鈥檚 first year in office, his administration鈥檚 push for health care reform legislation put a serious crimp in lawmakers鈥� plans to dash for the airports. The Senate stayed in session through Christmas Eve 2009 debating 鈥� and ultimately passing 鈥� the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
Some former members of Congress have noted the pull of airplane exhausts when it comes to setting Congress鈥檚 schedule. Former Maine GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe, for one, strongly criticizes the current preference for Tuesday-through-Thursday sessions. 鈥淏y Thursday, you know, jet fumes, the smell of jet fumes,鈥� she聽lamented on National Public Radio last year. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 heading home, wanting to know when they can adjourn on Thursday so they can leave.鈥�
Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark write their "Speaking Politics" blog exclusively for Decoder Voices.