Congress's poor record, and more

Congress's poor record

The 113th Congress is on course to pass less legislation than any Congress in history. So far, it’s passed only 49 laws. The “Do Nothing’’ Congress denounced by President Harry Truman in 1947 passed 906 laws.

Politico.com

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Clueless about Obamacare

Thirty-eight percent of uninsured Americans say they have heard “nothing at all” about the health-care exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

TheWire.com

Fewer college students

The number of college students in the U.S. fell by 2 percent this year compared with last, a decline caused by a combination of demographics, a tepid economy, and high tuition costs. The decline is likely to continue, since the number of new high school graduates peaked in 2011 and isn’t predicted to return to that level until 2024.

The Washington Post

Life sentences for nonviolent crimes

At least 3,278 Americans are serving life sentences without parole for such nonviolent crimes as cursing at a policeman and selling $10 worth of drugs. More than 80 percent of these life sentences are the result of mandatory sentencing laws.

The Economist

The government's $10 billion profit

When it sells its remaining stock in General Motors, the U.S. government will make a net $10 billion profit on its $421.6 billion bailout of the financial and auto industries. Five years after the bailouts began, the stock market has hit a record high, and the U.S. auto industry has added more than 300,000 jobs.

The Wall Street Journal