I’m a big Seinfeld fan as are many of my generation. The comedy show famously known for being about nothing, routinely touched on something that resonates. Postal Worker Newman once said: “You see, my dear, all certified mail is registered, but registered mail is not necessarily certified.”

One could just as easily say: “You see, my dear, all Senators are Members of Congress, but all Members of Congress are not necessarily Senators.”

It seems that many denizens of the upper chamber have themselves forgotten this simple legislative branch construct, choosing to use the pejorative term “Congress” to identify members of the House exclusively. One can only speculate that their intention here is to inoculate themselves, if not their chamber, from the popular sentiment that Congress doesn’t work, is dysfunctional, or any other descriptive word or phrase in a long list of derisive terms used to demean the institution. After all, while the name Senator may rightly entitle the bearer to a great deal of perquisites, immunity from criticism in the face of Congressional gridlock should not be one of them.

As the decades old “Schoolhouse Rock” instructed, Congress is comprised of two chambers – and in order for a bill to become law, it must pass the House and the Senate.

I believe that critics of Congress are, sadly, more often than not justified in many of their comments. However, one should be more targeted and precise when addressing their comments of derision, in either case.

In general, targeting comments at Congress would imply both chambers. Certainly neither is immune. Many negative comments are specifically aimed at the Senate but rarely these days do we see critics level their attacks on the House, preferring instead to use the term “Congress” to identify that particular body. Conversely, directing barbs exclusively at the House while using the term “Congress” wrongly includes the Senate.

So why point this out? Simply to illustrate that our culture has a habit of overlooking details that, over time, become acceptable (if wrong) parlance. An example is the phrase “...a whole ‘nother’ thing.” When did “nother” become a word? It became a word after years of combining “another thing” with a “whole other thing” and colloquially arriving at the now commonplace “whole nother thing.” Apparently the phrase is perfectly acceptable diction in light of its wide usage today.

Let’s not make the same mistake when referencing the legislative branch. The Senate is the Senate, and the House is the House. Collectively they comprise the United States Congress. It’s an institution citizens will argue - based on public opinion polls - that deserves the unending scorn and myriad insults regularly heaped upon it. But please, place the scorn and insults on the right pile. If it makes it any easier to remember, scorn on the Senate, insults on the House. But trying to keep the two separate? Well, that’s a whole nother thing.

"Our border patrol [agents] need to be paid. Our TSA agents need to be paid. Our [Drug Enforcement Administration] agents need to be paid. All these people under the [Department of Homeland Security] umbrella need to be paid. Our folks in the [Internal Revenue Service], our folks at [the U.S. Department of Agriculture], our folks in the Commerce Department, our folks in the Interior, they all need to be paid because they're doing the work," he said.

Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Pelosi bars Trump address; president relents, decides to delay speech during shutdown

"It's unfortunate that she's putting politics and her disdain for President Trump over her responsibility as speaker of the House," U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford said in an interview.

"You don't have to like the president to extend the invitation. This is a time-honored tradition," the lawmaker from Jonesboro said.

The Fence Post
Conaway announces GOP House Ag members for 116th Congress

In the release, Conaway said, "After successful completion of the 2018 farm bill, I'm pleased to have a great group of new and returning members on the Agriculture Committee who will continue the work of restoring prosperity to our nation's farmers and ranchers and all of rural America. We have a great deal of work to do, including implementing and protecting the new farm bill, continuing to press for a rollback of harmful regulations that hurt our farmers and ranchers, and leveling the global playing field to create more market access for U.S. agriculture products. I'm confident in the team we have assembled, and I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues in championing rural America and our country's farm and ranch families."

H.R. 676 - NATO Support Act - Yea

H.R. 328 - Hack Your State Department Act - Yea

H.R. 648 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 - No