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more federal productivity
May. 28th, 2013 08:07 amI was thinking this morning of Congress coming back from its holiday break, when I remembered a proposal someone I knew made years ago how it ought to go back to being just a part-time lawmaking body. Ostensibly, it's always been just that, but in reality now? Come on.
Plenty of state legislatures meet for a few months a year to introduce, debate, amend, and pass or deny bills, then the lawmakers go back to real jobs - and give the enforcement and interpretive branches time to do their work. It's also a cooling-off period for current events that happen on the months-long break between sessions, so that you don't get so MANY instances like the Freedom Fries fuckery of the early 2000s. And honestly, we could do this at the federal level - between such as that, wanting to vote for the 38th time to repeal something the Supreme Court has already deemed constitutional, constantly fighting to roll back a right for half the human race decided four decades ago, and no longer even having the authority to declare war (apparently), Congress has officially run short of productive activity. I say it concentrate what really needs done in 3 months a year and go home the other 9 months ... where the legislators might actually be forced to spend more time with their voters than just at campaign fundraisers and reacting to hot-button news events with town-hall meet-and-greets.
Congress was never meant to be full-time. And it has no need to be.
Plenty of state legislatures meet for a few months a year to introduce, debate, amend, and pass or deny bills, then the lawmakers go back to real jobs - and give the enforcement and interpretive branches time to do their work. It's also a cooling-off period for current events that happen on the months-long break between sessions, so that you don't get so MANY instances like the Freedom Fries fuckery of the early 2000s. And honestly, we could do this at the federal level - between such as that, wanting to vote for the 38th time to repeal something the Supreme Court has already deemed constitutional, constantly fighting to roll back a right for half the human race decided four decades ago, and no longer even having the authority to declare war (apparently), Congress has officially run short of productive activity. I say it concentrate what really needs done in 3 months a year and go home the other 9 months ... where the legislators might actually be forced to spend more time with their voters than just at campaign fundraisers and reacting to hot-button news events with town-hall meet-and-greets.
Congress was never meant to be full-time. And it has no need to be.
