And when kicking the can won’t work, lawmakers may simply avoid any decision at all. A deal to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs is faltering in the final stages while Congress is nowhere near an agreement to address the surge of children crossing the southern border. And forget any talk of a grand bargain on issues like immigration reform or a tax and budget package.

Congressional inaction is a time-honored tradition in the months before an election. But the stagnation in this Congress — even in the face of mounting national and international challenges — only bolsters the perception that this is really the least productive in history. And a thaw doesn’t appear to be in the offing as each party commits to seeking an elusive, post-election upper hand.

“The feeling has been: ‘Let’s just wait,’” said Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), a retiring first-term senator who has long sought a comprehensive budget deal. “There’s just too much of a tendency [to say]: ‘Well, it’s an election year.’ It’s always an election year around here. It never ends.”