Congress

Have we left the mouse guarding the cheese?

CONGRESS
The Issues, The Resolutions

Congress has evolved after the inception of the Constitution in much the same way as every other part of our country. The problem I have is the direction the evolution has taken over time. In much the same way as absolute power corrupts absolutely, left to their own devices, politicians will corrupt the system to provide them with the job security, just like anyone else.

Historically, the Founding Fathers envisioned a system of representatives of the people that came to the seats of government intent on providing the best alternatives for the people. The intent was never based on a group of people that were going to treat governing as a career. That's why there was never a Congressional retirement program stipulated in the Constitution. The plan was for someone to learn about life in the working world, serve the people for a period of time and return to the working world after having given to the people the best you have to offer. The Founding Fathers believed that the people that wanted to serve in government were the same selfless and dedicated people they were, seeking only to make the country the best it could be. Today we are cursed with a group of people that represent the special interests that contribute to the almighty campaign chest and, although claiming to be interested in the serving, have found ways to keep reform from overtaking the avenues to financial reward.

Yes, these are bold allegations. The concern I harbor is based on the ways that the politicians have found ways to twist the simple systems devised in the Constitution with methods for gathering and retaining power in a system representing the concept of equality. Let me give you some areas of concern:
1) Freshmen Congressmen: I have studied the Constitution back and forth and even held if up to the light and nowhere have I been able to find the word Freshman when describing a congressional representative. This is not a term of endearment or inspiration. This is a term of degradation. This term is applied to the newest members of Congress by the senior members so that the new people with the new ideas will be taught that their place is in line behind the leaders of the party.
2) Seniority: This concept falls right in line beside the Freshman concept. The Constitution does not provide any basis for seniority because the basic concept of equal representation does not provide for any increase in voting authority as someone stays in office. More than once the concept of term limits keeps popping to the surface and each time dies a slow death because the "politicians" don't want term limits and will do whatever is needed to stay in office.
3) Committees: I recognize the need for each segment of government to change and adapt as the size and complexity of the country changes. Congress went one step further. As indicated, the Constitution does not provide for any member of Congress to have an authority level that is greater than any other member. Members of Congress, not satisfied with having an equal footing with newly elected members of Congress decided on a means to allow the gathering of authority over time. This method was the implementation of Committees. The claimed intent of the committees is for better organization and singular dedication to specific topics by each Congressman. In other words, a Congressman sits on a committee and that committee reviews all of the activity relating to the area of "expertise" of the committee. Just for administrative purposes, each committee has a chairman. The problem is that the committees have expanded beyond the basic "administrative" functions and have been turned into "political" machines.
3a) Committee members aren't changed each year, so that certain people can control certain aspects of government activity. For example, the appropriations committee reviews all of the Bills relating to the Budget. If the chairman of the appropriations committee wants funding for a new CIA headquarters in West Virginia (even though the CIA doesn't want it), unless everyone else agrees to the funding then their funding may get eliminated from the Bill.
3b) If the Speaker of the House wants to keep a bill from passing, he can assign the bill to a committee that has a friend of his and they will sit on the bill until it expires. The basic concept of each committee covering a specific area isn't written in stone and can be changed on the whim of the leader assigning the bill. If a bill gets to the right committee, any member of that committee can "hold" the bill without having to identify himself to the other members of Congress.

These are just the upper levels of concern. Congressmen have changed the rules for the President but refused to apply the same rules to themselves. The Constitution does not place a limit on the number of terms that the President can serve; Congress placed that limit after FDR served for 4 consecutive terms. The popularity of FDR allowed him to force Congress to implement many of the changes from that era. Once FDR left office, Congress initiated an Amendment to limit the number of terms the President can serve (heaven forbid that one party would control the Oval Office for more than 8 years). This limitation was only placed on the President; Congressmen can serve for as many terms as they can be elected. Once again, this is an example of the Congress becoming more involved with the politics instead of the government.

CONCLUSION:
The time has come for Congress to return to the concept of equal representation. Congress needs to step away from the political animals that take so much time now. This can be accomplished by making several changes to the existing procedures:

First, eliminate the concept of Congressional retirement. Change the pay scale so that when the Congressman leaves office, he has been rewarded for his service and that's the end of it. Let's not be stingy, Congressmen should be paid in a manner that is in line with the private sector.

Second, assignment or Congressmen to the various committees must be done on a random basis at the beginning of each session of Congress. It must be done in the open, no more secret meetings and agreements. Put all the names in a hat, make a list of the committee positions and go right down the line, pull a name, assign it, and pull the next name. No choosing, no selecting, no prompting; the newest member of Congress can be assigned to the most important committee, Democrat or Republican, it makes no difference.

Third, bills are assigned to the committee desired by the presenter of the bill. The choice is not up to the Speaker due to the obvious conflict of interest. The bill presenter has the best knowledge of the topic and the most favorable audience. All members of Congress will have the opportunity to review the bill once it emerges from committee.

Fourth, all members of Congress have the same size offices, same size staffs and same salary.

Fifth, committees can only hold a bill for a limited period of time, after which, it will be returned for discussion by the general Congress.

Sixth, any member of Congress, once leaving office, cannot perform any lobbyist functions for any organizations for a period of five years.

Seventh, all members of Congress must pay for non-government business mail, any mail for campaign purposes cannot be "Franked".