A great metaphor for the politics of Washington is that June opens with the Belmont Stakes, the third and longest leg of Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. At a mile-and-a-half it is horse racing’s longest race on one of the oldest tracks in the sport. It is traditionally called “The Test of Champions” because of its length and horses tire after running the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978, there have been 12 horses to lose the Belmont after winning the the Derby and Preakness.

Like the Belmont, politics is a long race with lead changes and maneuvering through the straights to cross the finish line as a winner. The election of 2016 will be different in that it will probably feature more candidates than the number of horses running in the Belmont.

For watchers of the political maneuvering that is part of the sausage making process, it will be difficult to predict how the race for 2016 will affect what congress does. No doubt, there will be a lot of show horses trying to one-up the others. Since coin-related legislation is not a top priority, it will be interested to see how many coin-related bills are passed the rest of this session. Given congress’s recent dysfunction and the race not even to the first furlong, you may be better off reaching for your antacids than a scorecard!

Only one coin-related bill was introduced in May:

H.R. 2525: Hero Street USA Commemorative Coin Act
Sponsor: Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL)
• To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition and celebration of Hero Street USA.
• Introduced: May 21, 2015
• Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services

Track this bill at https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr2525

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