Now that only a lame-duck portion of it remains, we are now in a position to begin to assess the 109th Congress. Per the Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein article that my colleague Matt points out below: “with few accomplishments and an overloaded agenda, [the 109th Congress] is set to finish its tenure with the fewest number of days in session in our lifetimes, falling well below 100 days this year.” At the same time, as the Washington Post reports today, the House passed 165 bills… in the last week alone. That’s more than one for every threatened incumbent, and then some. I’d argue that the efficacy of a Congress is better measured not by days or bills but, at a bare minimum, by how it disposed of issues that it is constitutionally bound to address, such as the budget. Thus far, this Congress’ performance on the fiscal front stands somewhere between “negligent” and “reckless.” Before adjourning on September 29th — two days before the new fiscal year — to let members go campaigning, Congress neglected even to vote on 10 of the 12 appropriations bills it needs to in order to adhere to its own rules governing annual budget-making. And congressional leaders recklessly paired a set of tax credit extensions that millions of Americans depend on -- the R&D, state sales tax, work opportunity tax credit and welfare-to-work credit, college tuition, teachers out-of-pocket expense tax credits — with the estate tax, a sure-fire loser in the Senate, where the extensions remain stuck in limbo. Going into the final turn, on the real fiscal lay-ups before it, the 109th Congress’ shots are closer to nothing than nothing but net.