Congress under fire, but unlikely to ignite economy quickly: Lawmakers find little consensus on...

Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 20--WASHINGTON -- Gas prices are above $4 a gallon. Wages aren't keeping up with the rising cost of food, housing and just about everything else. And companies from coast to coast have eliminated hundreds of thousands of jobs in the last six months. So what can Congress do about it? Members are floating plenty of proposals, but don't expect anything lawmakers do to have an immediate, significant impact on the economy, many experts say. "In the short term, there isn't much Congress can do," said Abdur Chowdhury, an economist at Capital Market Consultants and professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee. The best Congress can hope for, economists say, is to help the nation avert an even bigger economic downturn. That's if lawmakers can reach consensus on what to do. The lack of agreement about... [read full story]