It’s time the people for whom Congress is supposed to work assert their ownership of the process. We need a Constitutional amendment that would give a civilian panel the ability to determine how each of the houses of Congress works administratively and procedurally. For example: Congress members may have portable 401k’s but they will not receive a government pension. The House and Senate will sit alphabetically, not by party, or seniority. Appointment to committees will be done by lottery for all those qualified, as will office assignments. The speaker of the house will be elected by secret ballot. The Franking privilege will be discontinued. Congress members may not use unpaid interns and will observe the same working rules as private industry. Ethics complaints will be investigated by the Department of Justice, not a congressional committee. If a trial is warranted it will be in open court and the jury shall be selected from those called for jury duty. Any member of Congress, House or Senate, owing taxes or other revenues to their state or the federal treasury will lose their voting rights until the matter is rectified. Electronic meetings, including secure streaming meetings, will be used in place of face to face gatherings in Washington and secure electronic voting measures will be introduced. Members of congress will be encouraged to do their business from their home districts and states via electronic connections. This will allow them to be more accessible to their constituents.
We also need a Constitution amendment that prohibits funding for campaigns from outside the district of the seat being sought. For example no contributions for a candidate for the 23rd congressional district of Texas could solicit or receive funds from outside that geographic area. Company’s will be prohibited from contributing. Thus the only funds available will be from the constituents of the 23rd district. This will level the playing field. Any unspent campaign funds will be turned over to the Treasurer of the U.S. for use in the General Fund.
There should be an amendment abolishing national political parties with each candidate required to run on their own and when they reach the House or the Senate they will be their as representatives of their district or state and not as clogs in a national party combine. This would be true representative democracy.
The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate will have no authority other than to open and close sessions of their respective bodies.
Yes, I know I generally against idealism but this really isn’t idealism, it is the people asserting themselves in order to take back what has become a corrupt administration of government. It is much like letting students run schools or prisoners run prisons. No adult supervision.
Lots more can be done, but if we can just make Congress into what it is supposed to be, a group of the people’s representatives vice the club of power players it has become, we will achieve a major turnaround in the efficiency of government. It is time we began returning to a true representative republic.