What? No More Feel-Good Congressional Resolutions?

WASHINGTON--When the University of Connecticut's Huskies won the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament earlier this year, Rep. Joe Courtney made sure the team's triumph didn't go unnoticed in Washington.

The basketball team "stands as a history-making organization, with 78 straight wins," Courtney, a 2nd District Democrat, said in a speech on the House floor in April. "They're now only 9 wins short of catching the record by the UCLA men's basketball team... back in the 1960s."

Courtney closed his remarks by urging his colleagues to approve a House resolution he'd sponsored congratulating the Huskies on their victory --a measure that sailed through the chamber by a voice vote.

But the team won't get any such hip-hip-hoorays from Congress next year, even if they win the 2011 tournament.

When Republicans take control of the House in January, they have vowed to ban votes on commemorative or congratulatory resolutions, which are nonbinding and generally pass with overwhelming support.

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