30 Jan 2018 What Will It Take

What Will It Take For Congress To Act?

What will it take to get people energized enough to get Congress and the President to take action on our most pressing issues?  How does an institution like Congress have such an abysmal reputation, but still have the members overwhelmingly re-elected?  Is it truly apathy that exists, or that people feel that they as an individual cannot make a difference? 

There are organizations that are slowly having an impact.  No Labels (www.nolabels.org) is one such group.  They are working directly in Washington DC to get Congress people to work together. They are not asking anyone to change positions or principles, but to have dialogue and legislate.  They were instrumental in pushing for passage of the No Budget No Pay law.  Congress does not get paid if a budget is not passed in the time required.  This is a great first step. 

Many people have offered other very practical ideas for laws that Congress should follow.  I would venture to say that if you polled most Americans, they would agree that the proposals are common sense.  One example is No Tenure. That is, one politician has no more power than another purely due to him/her being re-elected more times. Today, seniority is a very big deal in Congress.  A great deal of power is welded by the few who have been there a long time.  This needs to change.  It is a democracy no a union.  You do not get more privileges just for being there longer.

But the original question still remains, what is it going to take?  The answer is, in my opinion, that there is not going to be any massive change in the public’s actions toward Congress.  It will take continuous progress where gains may be slow, but they will come.  Continuous improvement in the quality of information that is provided the people.  Continuous improvement in the ability of people to interact with members of Congress.  Continuous improvement in the ability of people to provide input on issues. 

If you want things fixed overnight, you will be disappointed.  However, what can change in a year, two years? That is where is has to be measured.  Every election, the entire House of Representatives is up for re-election as well as a third of the Senate.  If voters can change 10% of the members each time with someone who pledges to lead and legislate, change can be made.  Or if voters can get a current member to lead and legislate, that would be moving in the right direction. 

Doing nothing, by blaming the other party or person is not a solution.  It is not leading or legislating.  It is very important to point out again that the goal is not to push for particular issues right now, but to get Congress to legislate, especially in the budget area.  We need a budget with all appropriations signed into law no later than 30 September of the fiscal year.   This is priority number one for Congress.  If we do not have the basic budget structure in place, we are dysfunctional. Once the budget process is followed, now it is time to fight for the particular details of it.

What Will It Take?  One person at a time.  It may be a cliché, but that is ok.  Do you care enough to be the next person?  If yes, what are you going to do?