The members of Congress had scarcely unpacked their bags after returning from summer recess when President Nixon's challenge hit them. Fresh from talking to their constituents, they were well aware that the American public is impatient to get on with the country's business, but they deeply resented the President's attempt to blame them for a "very disappointing" showing. In fact, the record of the 93rd Congress is far from dismal—though unsatisfactory to the President—and the first sounds of the new session were sounds of irritation at the President's tactics.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield and House Speaker Carl Albert jointly declared that "Congress does not 'perform' at the behest of this President or any President. The Congress acts in accord with its independent judgment of what is best for the nation and the people. There are no apologies to be made for this Congress. It has done, it is doing, and it will continue to do the people's business." Returning to the Senate seven months after being shot in a holdup, John Stennis of Mississippi defended Congress. He said that he had heard that Senators were "not living up to their responsibilities. I don't believe one word of that."
Six Vetoes. So far this session, Democratic leaders point out, Congress has passed a total of 106 bills, a figure that compares favorably with past congressional performances. By counting up committee reports, roll-call votes, hours in session and bills enacted, the Congressional Quarterly concluded that the legislative record of the 93rd Congress so far is the equal of most (although it has sided with the President on only 43% of the issues on which he has taken a stand, as compared with 66% last year). "There are only seven Senators on the Watergate committee," says Robert Byrd, Democratic Whip in the Senate. "The remaining 528 members of Congress have been busy in other committees, and I think the idea that they have been preoccupied with Watergate should be debunked." Republican Senator Charles Percy agrees:
"I can't keep up with my work and watch the hearings. Watergate is the only issue on which my constituents are more informed than I am."
Congress has been so active, in fact, that the President has vetoed six key bills that it passed: restoration of impounded grants for rural water and sewer projects; vocational rehabilitation for the handicapped; a requirement for Senate confirmation of the present and any future director and deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget; a ban on the use of congressionally appropriated funds to pay for bombing in Cambodia; emergency medical care; and, last week, an increase in the minimum wage from $1.60 an hour to $2.20. So far, Congress has been unable to muster the forces to override the vetoes, and more vetoes are sure to come. Certain to be rejected by the President, if Congress passes them, are two bills that would circumscribe his power. One would limit his ability to commit military forces to combat without congressional approval; the other would curtail his power to impound funds appropriated by Congress.