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Iraq's parliament is at a total standstill.

Nearly every session since November has been adjourned because as few as 65 members made it to work, even as they and the absentees earned salaries and benefits worth about $120,000. ... Deals on important legislation, most recently the oil law, now take place largely out of public view, with Parliament -- when it meets -- rubber-stamping the final decisions. As a result, officials said, vital legislation involving the budget, provincial elections and amendments to the Constitution remain trapped in a legislative process that processes nearly nothing. American officials long hoped that Parliament could help foster dialogue between Iraq's increasingly fractured ethnic and religious groups, but that has not happened, either.

They might be earning $120k, but safety is such a huge issue that the salary barely pays for the guards hired by members to protect them. One guy says he has 40 bodyguards and the money only covers 20.

The speaker of the parliament is thinking of trying to clamp down on the rampant absenteeism.

Mr. Mashhadani said Parliament would soon start fining members $400 for every missed session and replace the absentees if they fail to attend a minimum amount of the time.

He hit a slight snag on that, though. He needs a quorum in order to pass the proposal.