This week Congress adjourns for a six-week vacation full of ritzy political conventions and special interest junkets to faraway lands. When they come back in September, they only have to put in another month of work before rushing back to their home states for the election. Witnessing our elected officials lead a schedule that's lax enough to make even Paris Hilton blush might make taxpayers question if they're getting their money's worth out of the $150,000/year lawmaker salary.

The truth is, with congressional gridlock worse than a Los Angeles freeway and little time remaining to get anything else done, taxpayers may have been given a blessing in disguise. So far this year, Congress has passed only one spending bill, named a few buildings after each other, and sanctimoniously pontificated about Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunctions, but that's really about it. Now they're running out of time to run up our record budget deficits and waste more of our money. Instead of bemoaning their poor progress this term, let's pat them on the back and shove them out the door.

As the 108th Congress pulls away from the dock, we'd like to blow them kisses because we know that when meddling lawmakers myopically fixate on “what's in it” for themselves, it costs us money. Take the corporate tax bill. All they really had to do was repeal a $5 billion/year tax break for American companies that the World Trade Organization declared illegal. Lawmakers were on track to repeal the provision, all right, but then they added more then $145 billion in tax breaks for every special interest in Washington, from foreign gamblers to Oldsmobile dealers. There are more deals made in this one piece of legislation than in a game of Monopoly, and taxpayers can't pass Go. Fortunately, the legislation is now suffocating under its own weight.

The transportation bill has fallen plague to rampant earmarking. Instead of trying to create comprehensive transportation policy this year, lawmakers in the House decided to spend more than $10.6 billion on 3,248 earmarks for almost every congressional district in the nation. The formula was simple: $14 million for each district and big bonuses if you were fortunate enough to be on the committee or if leadership wanted to help you out with a tight reelection. This bill ended up with more grease in it than a can of WD-40, and for good reason: the right number of local interest payoffs will buy you all the votes you need to get your bill passed.

Another example of Congressional meddling was the energy bill, which was chock full of subsidies, pork barrel projects, and ridiculous spending that had little, if anything, to do with our nation's energy needs. Even supporters of the legislation admitted that the bill is merely a goodie-bag assortment of projects and policies. The energy bill has something for everyone. It gives billions to ethanol producers, “gre.png” bonds to subsidize shopping malls, and billions more in loan guarantees for an Alaska natural gas pipeline. There are also millions for pet projects across the country. The oil and gas industry alone reaps more than a quarter of the bill's funding.

Inside the DC beltway, “gridlock” is usually a four letter word. But, right now it is the only thing standing between taxpayer's wallets and billions in special interest pork barrel projects. Sure, lawmakers haven't done much in 2004, but who cares? Election years rarely bring out the best in our elected officials. Instead of looking out for the nation's best interest, they're usually focused on “numero uno” and what it takes to keep their current job.

Sometimes less is more. Through inaction, ineptitude and partisan bickering on the three bills mentioned above, Congress may actually have saved us money this year – to the tune of $220 billion. However, after the November elections, Congress and the White House need to get to work. We know they can do it because that's what they did eight years ago when they passed several major bipartisan laws, such as welfare reform and a minimum wage increase, oh, and started a string of budget surpluses.