Ideas for a Better Congress

Day 1,164, 15:52 • Published in USA USA • by The Libertine


In the recent election, I lost my Minnesota congressional seat. Considering I didn't campaign at all, it was not much of a surprise. (Thanks one person who voted for me, whoever you are 😁 )

However, since then I've been honored to be nominated for the position of Speaker. The funny thing about the Speakership is that you do not need to be a Congressmember to hold the position. The amazing Claire Littleton was actually the first to be elected while not being a member of the body, as far as I know.

I'm realistic about my chances of winning. They are slim to none. I won't be doing any arm twisting or "campaigning" for the position. What I have are ideas. Ideas about how, if somehow elected, I would make the Senate a better, more effective and significant, place. Below is my platform, which will be published here as well, with the platforms of everyone else running for the Speakership (Jasper Signa, Cromstar, and PigInZen). I'd encourage everyone to check those out. Jasper already has a great one posted.

I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks.

Pretty music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tPhUgZj8TM


To the good and the corrupt members of Congress (I speak to everyone. I'm inclusive like that),

I'm running for Speaker on a platform of CONSOLIDATED and DELEGATED POWER

Let me explain.

CONSOLIDATION

For a long time, I've been a proponent of a stronger more assertive Legislative branch. Does this mean we should be a pain in the ass? No. But we should not be the President's rubber stamp. Our members and their contributions should not be cast off by the public. Our leadership team should not be silent. As Speaker, I'd seek to increase the stature of Congress by taking firm stands when needed, publishing Speaker updates in the media, and by frequently communicating with all Congressmembers to ensure we are all on the same page and working hard on the tasks at hand. As Jasper has already written, there is much that needs to be done over the coming month and months beyond.

If I am Speaker, Congress will not exist as a "ghost"-like institution. We will not be ignored, nor will flippant comments about "Congress never getting anything done" be tossed around. We'll earn the respect we deserve, and we'll work harder than ever to get it.

DELEGATION

I've made no secret that I'm a proponent of a committee system. Before you groan, please hear out my plan and rationale. I would like us to form a three committee system. The committees would be: Tax and Budget, Rules, and Community. Each Congressmember would be a member of two committees.

1. Tax and Budget - This would be the premiere Congressional committee. First time Congressmembers would NOT be able to serve on this committee. This group would be responsible for drafting a budget each month (and submitting it for a full Congress vote), debating and introducing tax change proposals, and working on any monetarily related issue (ie: audits, CBO oversight, communication with the Economic Council, etc)

2. Rules - The Rules committee would mainly be focused on issues of changing the Constitution and US Code. Members of this committee would develop their inner parliamentarians and help advise the Speaker on matters that require Constitutional interpretation. Also, all bills that do not clearly fall into the realm of the Tax and Budget or Community committees would need to originate and be proposed from here.

3. Community - The Community committee will work on three main things: communication between branches of the government, helping administer/create/oversee government programs (such as Arm America or past proposals to encourage Senators to message their citizens more often), and propose resolutions celebrating the eUS Community (Congressional Medals of Honor, commemorating "days," applauding and promoting work in different fields like technology or economic research, etc). This community will have a lighter atmosphere than the others and will be a great way to introduce new Congressmembers to Congress and teach proper voting procedure and debate decorum.


So, why? Why committees? Everyone seems to think that a committee system would suck. Perhaps it would, perhaps not. Some have said they work great at first but eventually they break down, over the course of months. Using this reasoning, why not try it out for a month? But that is not my argument.

Leadership and specialization. A committee system allows for the selection of Committee Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen. It will allow people to step up into leadership opportunities earlier on in their political careers, show their chops, and hopefully rise to the occasion. Our current system makes it exceedingly hard for new Congressmembers to have their voice heard, never mind even display their capabilities. Breaking us up into slightly small groups (would be roughly 20-40 members per committee rather than all 60 Senators for all discussions, as we have now) will allow for this. We need to cultivate and develop new voices. The current set up of the Senate is a black whole of retention and development. Do we want to continue this?

Second, specialization is essential. By introducing/seperating Congressmembers to fewer issues at a time, we allow them to become more specialized in those things. I've served in Congress for three months now. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to the intricacies of certain policy debates, but I'm not the dullest either, and for the life of me, I can't honestly say I understand any issue better than I did before I joined three months ago. When everyone debates every issue a little, we learn only a little. I prefer a system where we harness our time and minds to more specific issues and become specialists. We need to create more parliamentarians, more economists, and more community organizers.

I served on the Infrastructure Committee (back when committees existed) for about two weeks, back in September '09, in my first ever Congress term. I learned more in those two weeks, trying to study how hospitals work and debate the best placement and learn the reasons for our existing policies, than I have about any issue over the last few months. I took that experience with me as I subsequently traveled around the world. Serving twice as Deputy Speaker and once as Speaker in the Knesset (eIsrael's Congress). Without those intense two weeks of policy debate, my trial by fire, I never would have gone to do the things I did. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

We need to rekindle that spirit. We need to teach new Congressmembers about the issues incrementally and create a better introductory environment than "here is everything...ok, start!" We can do this. We can use the Senate to train new leaders, rather than to simply be a body of caretakers and misplaced idealism (usually ending in tears).

Call me crazy, but we can do this and do it right.

~ CRoy