Nearly nine out of 10 Americans say they disapprove of the U.S. Congress, and for good reason, too, says House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The current Congress is the least productive in history. But, says Pelosi in a column in USA Today:

The source of congressional inaction today is a Republican congressional leadership that cannot, or will not, govern; that will not put aside partisanship to work together.

Instead of acting on a long-term, bipartisan surface transportation bill, House Republican leaders today pushed and passed another short-term extension, just hours before they are due to leave town on a two-week recess. Funding authorization expires Saturday, and the Senate is expected to approve the 90-day extension.

With Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid possibly on the budget cutting block, members of the Alliance for Retired Americans will celebrate the organization’s 10th anniversary this week by doing what they have done for a decade: fighting for for America’s seniors.

With Labor Day approaching, the Alliance for Retired Americans is wrapping up more than 70 actions in more than two dozen states around the country this summer. The events have ranged from celebrating the anniversaries and successes of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to holding accountable presidential candidates and lawmakers.

Machinists (IAM) member Patrick Bertucci is a shop steward at Boeing’s Renton, Wash., plant where he works on wing assembly for the Boeing 737. Today he spoke to a packed Capitol Hill press conference about a House Republican bill designed to cripple the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) ability to protect workers:

When I go to work every day, I am held accountable to build the best and safest aircraft in the world. The Boeing Co. needs to be held accountable for their actions as well…I want the Boeing to be successful. But no company can succeed when they break the law.

Today as we hear that Social Security cuts may be on the table in the federal budget deficit talks, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other union and progressive leaders, including House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, have come out strongly in opposition to such moves. Trumka says that “at a time when retirement security remains an elusive goal for most Americans, cuts to Social Security benefits – in whatever form they take – should not be on the table.

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) modest, common-sense proposed rule to remove roadblocks for workers who want to vote on whether to form a union has drawn praise from working men and women, political leaders and activists around the country.

On a near straight party line vote (235-193) this afternoon, the U.S. House passed the Republican budget plan that privatizes Medicare, cuts corporate taxes and taxes for the wealthy, cuts Medicaid funding repeals health care reform and costs up to 2 million jobs. All Democrats as well as four Republicans voted against the bill. (Get the vote breakdown here.)

Wow. How sweet! We didn’t even know they cared. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has launched an e-Valentine’s Day card website where you can send a card, adorned with the faces of  people who certainly aren’t the RNC’s sweethearts  and carrying what passes for Republican humor messages.