Congress returned to session in June facing a long legislative “to do” list and a hostile electorate. By all accounts, the American public is mighty unhappy—three-quarters of those responding to surveys think the country is on the “wrong track.”

That number is not surprising. Gasoline prices, the housing crisis, the credit crunch, health care costs, food price increases—all contribute to the discontent. Economic growth, although anemic, may indicate we are not in a recession, but that's a mere technicality to the majority of Americans who believe we are.

So what is Congress doing to address Amer-ican voters' concerns and turn around that low approval rating? Sadly, the answer is not much.

From Easter to Memorial Day, hundreds of roll call votes were conducted, but little legislation was enacted to address major issues. This inability to act has serious consequences.

For example: May and June marked the anniversaries of the signing of the 2001 and 2003 tax bills—legislation which helped the economy and created millions of new jobs. Those tax cuts will expire if Congress does not act to extend them or make them permanent, as the President has called for. Republican leaders in both houses of Congress have echoed that demand, as has the Tax Relief Coalition, the NAW-led business coalition.

Congress not only has not moved to make the tax cuts permanent, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) has proposed an additional income tax rate surcharge as well as repeal of Last In, First Out (LIFO) inventory accounting. In sum, he has called for tax increases of upwards of $3 trillion dollars. A list of the expiring tax provisions can be found at the NAW Web site: www.naw.org/tmp/exptaxprovision.pdf.

On health care, Congress has also done nothing. There are “mental health parity” bills in both houses, but no agreement has been reached. They've also done nothing on health IT, small business health plans, or any of several other targeted items.

On energy, Senate and House Republicans are calling for increased domestic production of oil and natural gas, off-shore drilling, more nuclear energy and increased refining capacity. The Democratic Leadership (as of this writing) has ignored the GOP's plan, focusing instead on tax credits for alternative energy sources.

With gas prices topping $4 a gallon, Republicans believe the time might be right for their ideas. For the first time in a decade, opinion polls show that the majority of respondents support increased drilling for oil in the U.S.

Both Houses did pass legislation to address housing, with money to insure against foreclosures and stricter regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As of this writing, no legislation has reached the President's desk.