Eye on Washington

This has been a contentious and generally unproductive session of Congress, with little major legislation passed, authorization bills still incomplete, and much attention paid to pushing potentially awkward votes on such issues as keeping the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and reinstating the military draft. Some $145 billion worth of tax cuts sought by President George W. Bush were enacted—without alternative sources of revenue identified. Legislation that would legalize reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada failed to get a hearing.