JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- With only 96 hours to resolve the fiscal cliff, the clock is ticking in Washington, and President Obama's message to Congress is clear.
"America wonders why in this town for some reason you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable," he said during a speech Friday. "The American people are watching what we do here. Obviously their patience is already thin ... The notion that their elected leadership can't do the same thing is mindboggling to them. It needs to stop."
That's a problem that has plagued the 112th Congress from the beginning. In the past two years, it has passed only 239 bills on to the president, according to White House records, and unless it finds time to pass another 94 before Monday, it will go down as the most unproductive Congress on record.
Action News sat down with Congresswoman Corrine Brown as she prepared to fly back to Washington on Friday. Brown said she's optimistic a fiscal cliff deal will be met over the weekend, but says Washington still needs work.
"We have a Congress now that, when we sit down to talk, there's something wrong with negotiations."
Brown says the congressional system has changed over the years, where more time is spent talking, rather than taking action, and she's not surprised approval ratings average a mere 18 percent.
It's not how many days we are there, it's what we're doing when we're there - nothing. We're voting on naming bridges and courthouses when there are real issues."
They are issues many Americans wonder if the 113th Congress will ever get to.
"When you hit the bottom, you've got to go up. The American people deserve more, they absolutely do, and I'm looking forward to getting back to work - real work."
Right now there are 20 bills on the president's desk, with one week to sign them into law. For a full list, visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/legislation.
