Congress out of touch?

When Sen. Chris Dodd was in New Hampshire recently, he routinely asked local politicians he met, "What are you hearing?"

The House and Senate are expected to begin vigorous debates Monday over how to deal with detainees in the war on terror, whether to build a fence along much of the U.S.-Mexican border and how to fund Pentagon operations this year.

And that means when lawmakers go home in October, they won't have a lot of bread-and-butter legislation to brag about.

"I know the price of gasoline has gone down, but people are still talking about the high price of energy," said Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, (D, Conn.) "The middle class still feels squeezed, and they think we've done nothing."

Democrats say the inaction is all the Republicans' fault. Republicans say Democrats won't cooperate, so nothing gets done.

The reality is more complicated.

The most prominent reason domestic issues have been relegated to back bench status is politics: Most people in both parties see advantages in pushing their positions on the war on terror.

"Congress' agenda is set by the political calendar," said Douglas C. Foyle, associate professor of government at Wesleyan University, "and a lot of members feel they have to get a bill passed dealing with detainees."

The issue has dominated the headlines, and members see legislation as a way to head home and show constituents they are taking tough steps to help those fighting the war on terror.

But when it comes to domestic issues, there is no consensus in Congress about what will work politically.

"While you may want to rank the top three issues today, you can go to any congressional district in America and find out there is a different mix of issues," said House Majority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio.

In more conservative parts of the country, for instance, a do-little Congress is a strong selling point.

"If you're a big believer in limited government, like I am, you don't want to go back and say you did all these things to expand government," said Rep. Jeff Flake (R, Ariz.).

But in a state like Connecticut, constituents want results. "People are losing an ability to provide for basic needs," said Dodd (D, Conn.), "and we can get it right in this country. This isn't the Great Depression."

But getting it right also means different things to different lawmakers. The debate over how to curb health care costs and provide more access to good care has been going on for more than 50 years, and is not about to be resolved in a week.

For instance, one of President Bush's major initiatives in January was strengthening health savings accounts, so that consumers and small businesses could more easily buy coverage. Asked if any bill is likely to reach the floor before the election, Boehner said, "It is doubtful."

The only health care measure Congress is seen as considering this week is a bill that would have insurers who deal with the federal government keep electronic medical records.

Boehner was just as pessimistic about the chances this year for meaningful energy legislation. Bush made headlines in January when he told a joint session of Congress "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world."

He then laid out a series of steps to break that addiction. But no major energy measures, such as those that deal with price gouging, strict conservation standards, and helping refineries increase capacity, are scheduled for consideration this week.

It's nearly impossible to get agreement on broad energy measures, said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th District. Too many special interests - notably members from states where the auto industry is an important employer and members from oil-producing states - make it hard to find common ground.

"Put all of them together and it's hard to get enough votes to get us off our dependence on oil or get bills passed to promote conservation," Shays said.

Democrats routinely attack Republicans for failing to act on domestic issues. "This kind of inaction is why people hate Congress. They see us not getting anything done," said Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District.

Republicans will fight back this fall by arguing they are doing a lot to help people with jobs, health care and other day-to-day concerns.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-5th District, points to the pension overhaul legislation, signed into law by Bush in August, as a milestone in providing security for current and future retirees. The bill requires companies to fully fund pension plans, and strengthens the federal agency that insures those plans.

"This is a huge accomplishment," Johnson said.

Republicans also point out that difficult legislation takes time. The most recent comprehensive energy and bankruptcy bills, for instance, each took about four years to negotiate. Congress is still struggling with how - and whether - to write comprehensive immigration reform.

But the public, said experts, is not attuned to those nuances of the legislative process. They see Washington controlled by Republicans for the last four years, and they still have serious complaints about economic security, education and other domestic matters.

"The public is dissatisfied," said John J. Pitney, professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College in California.

Whether or not that will trump national security as the fall's top issue is unclear. A Pew Research Center poll taken Sept. 6-10 found that while Iraq and the war on terror remain the issues most on people's minds, next on the list include the economy, immigration, energy and health care.

Anecdotally, politicians find people are bringing up domestic matters at least as much as Iraq and certainly more than detainees.

When Dodd campaigned recently at Paradiso Italiano Restaurant in Salem, and asked his "What are people talking about?" question, Carolyn Webber said people were concerned about "all the growth in Salem." Beth Roth said "people have had enough" of legislative gridlock.

Laurel Redden recalled how she met a local small business owner who "lost everything" in a recent storm. "They didn't know where to turn," she said. "They could declare bankruptcy, but they don't want to do that."

Dodd found a common theme in all these worries: People feel government is disconnected from their daily lives.