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This way, congress representatives will protect Social Security because it would benefit them.

Yes, the filibuster rule must be repealed.Īlso, Congressmen should not get pensions after 5 years of service, they should rely on Social Security, like the rest of Americans. A return to the regular order developed by Congress over many decades would be central to improving its operations. And in the name of efficiency, Congress routinely embraces giant omnibus bills that allow congressional leaders basically to undermine the deliberation, transparency and accountability we expect and need in our system. The filibuster rule, nowhere enacted into law, now effectively requires 60 votes in the Senate in order to move most legislation, a formidable hurdle in the closely divided chamber. He’s now director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. Hamilton, a Democrat from Indiana, served 17 terms in the House, from 1965 to 1999, and later was vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.

Congress has to want to change, and we as voters must play our role in helping to bring that about. But we, as Americans, have to insist that the people we elect to it make this a priority.

It can live up to the faith our Constitution and our democracy place in it. Congress is a resilient and responsive body, and it can rebuild its standing. Turning Congress around will take some effort. Yet what we need are members who take seriously their oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution, with its mandate to search for a more perfect union, and who reflect the diversity of this great and varied country yet work to bring it together, not tear it asunder. It’s much harder, though not impossible, to find members who search for a remedy, as opposed to a political position. It’s not hard to find members of Congress who speak for a defined narrow interest. But many Americans are convinced these days that, whatever the specifics, their government is meeting neither their own nor the country’s needs. And what should those remedies look like? My preferences will look different from yours, which in turn will look different from your neighbor’s.