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Today on The Cycle: Fiscal Follies

While President Obama and Governor Romney have lunch at the White House today Treasury Secretary Geithner meets with House and Senate leadership on the fiscal c
US Capitol building from Senate side
US Capitol building from Senate side

While President Obama and Governor Romney have lunch at the White House today Treasury Secretary Geithner meets with House and Senate leadership on the fiscal cliff trying to move both parties into action.

As pointed out in today’s First Read, Washington is on track to being the least productive Congress since the 1940s. With just a few weeks left in session, the 2011-2012 Congress has passed only 196 bills, and this includes many ceremonial ones like the naming of the courthouses.  The previous low was set by the 104th Congress (1995-1996) which passed 333 bills into law. So with 138 bills needed to move through both the House and Senate  before the end of the session next month, what bills will actually make it through? And will a compromise on the Fiscal Cliff be one of them?

But if you’re looking at the glass half full, many conservative argue that not passing bills actually means this was a productive Congress.

We have New York Times Political Correspondent Nick Confessore on today’s show to help us figure out if this Congress will be able to tackle this feat and if this was a productive or unproductive Congress. Be sure to tune in at 3 p.m. for the full conversation.