House gets back to work and quickly falls into a cycle of punishing its own

The U.S. House is back in session after a multi-week hiatus, but its agenda has been quickly overtaken by a sudden flurry of censures, reprimands and the investigation of members, leaving little bandwidth for legislating.

With few bills to consider — and no quick fix for the problem of skyrocketing health insurance premiums — the House has instead devoted time to lawmakers’ demands to punish each other for their personal and political transgressions in showy spectacles on and off the chamber floor.

The escalating environment of political scrutiny is leaving the House, with just weeks to go before the end of year, without much time to make progress on unfinished business. Particularly unsettled is whether Congress will be able to deal with the expiration of the health care tax credits on Dec. 31, which threaten to leave millions of Americans unable to afford insurance coverage in the new year.