1. The Case Against Congress

2. I. Congress is inefficient. A. Decentralization of Congress has excessively spread out power. B. So many power centers make it difficult to get things done. C. Proponents of a bill need many victories, but opponents need only one. D. Excessive electioneering and fundraising are a drain on members’ time. E. Partisanship interferes with efficiency.

3. II. Congress is unrepresentative A. Represents narrow geographical interests at expense of national interest. Helps to explain why public likes their own reps but not Congress as a whole. B. Members place state and local interests over those of national in order to get reelected. C. Criticism that Congress is a club for white, male, middle-aged, Protestant lawyers. 110 th Congress: (435 in House) 1 Muslim, 2 Buddhist, 30 Jewish Representatives 40 African-American, 27 Hispanic, 4 Asian, 1 Native American Representatives. 71 females Senate: 16 women (highest ever), 13 of Jewish faith, 1 African-American (Barack Obama).

4. Congress is still unrepresentative: D. Though the seniority system has been modified, the older members still generally get chairmanships. E. Unequal representation: Alaska, with only a fraction of the population of California, has the same representation in the Senate. F. Un-elected staffs G. Gerrymandering H. Lack of 3 rd party representation

5. III. Congress is unethical. A. Numerous scandals B. Excessive/unethical fund raising. C. PAC influence D. Junkets (Vacations on the public’s dime). E. Contributions by corporations not even in members’ districts/states.

6. Congress is irresponsible. A. Diffusion of power allows members to be absolved of any individual responsibility. (Blame Congress, not your rep!) B. Diffusion of power allows a “watering down” of bills when opponents throw so many obstacles at a bill that proponents simply have to give in and compromise to get anything at all.

7. C. The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings bill represents an example of irresponsibility: 1. Since Congress could not simply balance the budget on its own, it passed this bill in the mid-80s as an automatic way of doing so. 2. The bill provided for a mandatory gradual reduction of budget deficits each year, leading up to a balanced budget by 1991 3. If Congress was unable to reach the yearly deficit reduction target figure, across-the-board budget cuts were to automatically kick in. Funds were to be sequestered in order to meet the goal. 4. In effect, an automatic mechanism was developed to help Congress save it from itself. 5. Effects: Congress got around the law by simply extending the deadlines, and also by excluding certain types of spending from the Gramm-Rudman limits.

8. Congress delegates excessive power to the executive branch. A. Due to diffusion of power, Congress finds it easier to write broadly-worded laws and have the bureaucracy “fill in the holes”. This leads to the criticism that the laws are essentially being made by an un-elected bureaucracy rather than by our elected representatives. B. Excessive delegation of power to the President in the area of war powers.