Pelosi: Do-nothing Congress didn't have to be that way [View all]

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By Nancy Pelosi

According to a new poll, nearly nine out of 10 Americans disapprove of the 112th Congress — and for good reason. This is one of the least productive Congresses in history, reported USA TODAY — even worse than the "do-nothing Congress" President Truman lambasted in 1948.

It doesn't have to work this way, even with a House controlled by Republicans and a White House and Senate controlled by Democrats. Recent history proves this point.

In 2006, after 12 years of GOP majorities, Democrats assumed control of the House and Senate. My colleagues in the House elected me to serve as speaker for the last two years of the Bush administration. No matter who occupied the Oval Office, Democrats in Congress knew we could not let partisan differences stand in the way of doing the work of the American people.

After the Republicans regained the House majority in 2010, I pledged in these pages that Democrats would work across the aisle on "solutions that reflect our priorities and address our nation's challenges." Yet Republicans refused, instead obstructing every initiative proposed by the Obama administration despite the president's efforts to cooperate.

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-08-22/pelosi-congress-democrats-bipartisan/57217790/1