It may be news to many Americans that it’s not a partisan idea to think Congress needs fixing. It’s not just ultraconservative Republicans who believe it’s necessary. Democrats do too.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right center, greets Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., after becoming speaker of the House on the 15th ballot on Jan. 7.
But as the right-wing Republicans stood under the bright glare of the TV lights on the House floor each day, a dozen other House members sat scattered around the room, having just spent four years working to address some of the same problems. In 2019, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., created a bipartisan committee for the “modernization of Congress.” It wasn’t just about updating technology. The committee alsoat partisan polarization and gridlock, “the inability to pass important legislation, low public approval ratings, high levels of partisanship, and the general belief that the institution could function better on behalf of the American people.
Even the hearings were physically set up to encourage bipartisan collaboration. Republicans and Democrats alternated in every seat, rather than sitting on opposite sides of the room, as is normally the case in hearing rooms. The committee members also sat in a roundtable format, all on the same level, rather than on a multilevel dais, so that everyone could look each other in the eye.
, issued in December. “Their inability to play a substantive role in legislative negotiations leaves some questioning the value of their committee work and looking for alternative ways to participate in the process.” The centralization of power in leadership offices turned many lawmakers into spectators, and some have gravitated toward performance politics as an alternative, the committee report said. “For better or worse, social media and cable news provide an easy outlet for members wanting to make their policy views known.”
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