Congress, the Press and the Public - Essay Example

?Insert Introduction With an array of legislative activities which has taken place in the 110th Congress, there are setbacks which have been witnessed in the Congress, and therefore compelling observers to label Congress a broken branch. Some of these setbacks are the failure by the ruling party [Democrats] to perpetuate their principal priorities, because of presidential vetoes and Senate filibusters. The corruption scandals which also accost almost all members of the Congress are part of some of the reasons the US Congress is being deemed as failing. Thus, the veracity of the claim of the ‘broken branch’ and the possible solution for fixing the ‘broken branch’ are discussed in the discussion which ensues forthwith. What Organizational Changes Congress Might Make To Work More Effectively It is true that in light of the limitations prevailing upon the Congress, there are some changes that can be ratified to make the Congress more effective. One of the changes which the Congress can make to work more effectively is instituting a room for the selection of an effective party leader with juniors working under this party leader. Another way to fix the US Congress is to build a better and more dynamic electoral system. This artifice can be achieved by establishing open primaries which would end gerrymandering among politicians. This is because, gerrymandering effectively provides politicians with a leeway which they use to pull away from their own districts. There cannot be proper representation in the event that politicians make a dereliction on their own jurisdiction. Conversely, amendments can be made to the rules of the Congress to make Congress function more effectively. The crux of the matter herein is that experts such as Mann and Ornstein contend that the problem besetting the Congress is not really about the representatives in the Congress, but the outdated traditions, procedures and rules which govern the operations of Congress which bar legislative processes and progress. Particularly, Article 1, Section 5 of the American Constitution reads that each House has the capacity to determine the Rules of its Proceedings. In this light, in the event that an incumbent Congress finds the rules, traditions and rules of its predecessor [to be] unproductive, archaic or inhibitive, members of the Congress may move in to amend these laws (Mann and Ornstein, 48). Amendments can also be made so that the remunerations of Congressmen can be tied to their performance. While some such as Vermeer have christened this move as No-Budget-No-Pay principle, there is a strong push to this effect to bar Congress from getting paid, in the event that Congress fails to make budget spending and decision in time. The need for this move is underscored by the fact that since 1952, Congress has passed budget planning and spending bills in a timely manner, only four times. Despite this state of affairs, the gravity of the matter is underscored by the dire financial and political situations which stem from the failure of the Congress to pass budget spending and planning, as was seen on October 1, 2013. In this case, the US government came to a sudden halt when the House Republicans failed to agree on their efforts to link the passage of the 2014 budgets of the federal government since they were fighting against the implementation of the healthcare reform. Consequently, 40% [800,000 workers] of the US’ public service was temporarily forced out of work, while 1 million federal American employees were made to work without payment (Vermeer, 220). It is also important to have the Congress [to] have all presidential nominations either conformed or rejected within 90 days, after that the Senate receives the presidential nominations. The importance of this proposal has its underpinnings in developments which have taken place in the US Congress. In 2011, more than 200 positions that had been presidentially appointed remained unfilled, following the senators’ failure to pass the positions, over very trivial reasons. How Congress’ Processes for Reviewing and Debating Proposed Legislation Can Be Streamlined Laws should be also amended in the Congress to regulate and shape the use of filibustering. It would be helpful to have the senators who are intent on filibustering to appear before the floor of the House and to carry out proper and sustained debates. In the same wavelength, the new laws should place a proscription on the use of filibusters to prevent or fight floor debates, as is the case with the current situation in the US Congress. Filibusters were used in its first 50 years, only 35 times, and in the most extraordinary circumstances, only. However, since 2011, filibusters have been used over 100 times, even in less serous circumstances, as a way of disrupting majority rule. It may also be helpful to form a bipartisan leadership committee as a way of curtailing and toning down partisanship. A bipartisan congressional leadership committee will help this situation by serving as a forum for effectively discussing substantive policy solutions and legislation. The need for this arrangement is strengthened by the fact that presently, every congressional meeting is merely a partisan political rally, unlike in the past when ideologically opposites such as House Speaker Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan could meet regularly and work together on relevant matters such as tax reform and entitlement. This committee should meet weekly to discuss on the developments that took place in the Congress and then meet at least monthly with the president for the same purpose. Values That Are Served By Streamlining or By Not Streamlining These Processes Congress’ processes for reviewing and debating proposed legislation should be streamlined. This is because streamlining the process of reviewing and debating proposed legislation will allow the process of legislation to be carried out with a greater extent of sobriety and commitment to national interests in lieu of sectarian interests. It is also given that more and better legislative items will be passed since provisions, laws and traditions of the Congress such as filibustering will cease to be used to hamper proper legislation. How Congress Can Make the Most Effective Use of Its Power to Investigate There are several measures which Congress can execute to make its power to investigate more effective. One of these approaches is to have a Congressional ethics body and office which comprises an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans and Democrats should have the authority to: investigate complaints of misconduct; establish recommendations to the full ethics committee for further investigations or sanctions; and throw out politically motivated or frivolous accusations. The full ethics committee should also be strengthened to extend its investigatory duties so that the Congressional ethics body is not demoralized. Again, Senate Resolution 194 should be amended and strengthened to further authorize the Congressional ethics body to subpoena documents, tapes and other important materials to any officer of the executive branch. Whether Congress Is “A Broken Branch” Or Not Observations on the progress taking place in the US Congress would definitely qualify it as a broken branch, meaning that it is malfunctioning or failing in its duties. At the moment, the Congress has lost its ability to truly represent the interests of the people [or the people themselves]. This is because, of late, Congressional politicians spend most of their time and careers campaigning and fundraising. Even congressional members with pure intentions become corrupted in the Congress, as careers of Congressional members fall short when Congressmen fail to find ways to pass legislation. These factors make Congressmen to make political decisions which are not premised upon the concept of right or wrong. Again, the failure of the minority to take action has resulted in a government shutdown; meaning that too much power has been inordinately vested into the hands of the minority. It is wrong that Congress should create new laws while managing the money which upholds these laws. This is because, funding the government, although simple at the facade, yet is a very complex matter since it necessitates the input of 500 people who have very divergent opinions and experiences. These 500 people must reach a consensus on the same, for funding to take place. The extent of this matter is exemplified by a government shutdown which was witnessed on October 1, 2013. Conclusion The foregoing clearly shows that the incumbent US Congress is a broken branch which needs fixing. Ignoring the plight of the current Congress has far-reaching implications which will jeopardize the economic and socio-political development of the United States. Again, the democratic legacy which the US brags about and exports to the rest of the world will be compromised since, as a broken branch, the US Congress has failed to embody and perpetuate the will of the American people. The power to: check corruption in the public sector; make sound and timely legislation; and make budget spending and allocation will also continue to bedevil the US political life, if this broken branch is not fixed. Works Cited Mann, F. Thomas & Ornstein, J. Norman. “Introduction.” In Congress, the Press and the Public. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution/ American Enterprise Institute, 2011. Print Vermeer, C. Mann, Norman E and Norman J. Ornstein Eds. “Congress, the Press and the Public.” Perspectives on Political Science, 24. 4 (1995): 220. Print Read More