Bailouts, take overs, health care reform, instead of allowing Congress to continue to do whatever they want with the goal of getting it all done before they have to start campaigning for the 2010 elections, lets be very clear on our new set of expectations. We can call it a taxpayer bailout or a congressional reform plan. Whatever we call it, we need to remind the people in Washington who their bosses are. I’ve got a few reform ideas to begin with, but I’m open to adding more, let me know what you think.
1. Read the bill and allow the public the opportunity to read the bill.
This seems simple enough, and it would solve several problems. Our representatives in congress, according to John Conyers, aren’t intelligent enough to read the bills the way they are written now, so making this a rule might force them to shorten the bills and stop filling them with legalize and double-talk that can be interpreted to fit the needs of the bill’s sponsors while allowing them to say something different. On a side note, this would have prevented the Joe Wilson incident as well. It would also give the public the opportunity to read the bill and tell their representatives what they think about it, which is exactly what the representatives are trying to avoid, but remember, we run the show, not them.
2. One issue, one bill.
HR3221 is the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. This bill invests a bunch of money in college grants and gives a couple billion dollars to promote segregation (it gives money to black colleges and universities and minority serving universities), but the bill also cuts off funding to ACORN… huh? I understand it is faster to add it in as an amendment to an existing bill, but what if a representative wants to vote for one, but not the other. OOOHHHHH, it was intended to be like that, I get it. One bill, one issue. Writing a bill cutting off ACORN funding wouldn’t take long, just write a new bill, allow the public time to comment, and vote based on the opinions of your constituents, sounds simple enough.
3. Speak when spoken to.
Did anyone catch Sheila Jackson Lee spending taxpayer dollars to lobby against Rush Limbaugh in his efforts to become a minority owner in an NFL franchise? Don’t do this crap. You are a Representative in the United States Congress, elected by the people to perform the duties of the public. Using the floor of the House of Representatives to blatantly attack a private citizen because you do not agree with his political views is grossly negligent and there should be no place for this in our country. You are a public representative shaping the laws of our country, you are not a private citizen. If you would like to speak your mind do it on your time outside of the House.
Elaborating on the last point there, I think this is becoming a bigger and bigger issue amongst our elected officials in this country. I understand that a certain amount of ego is involved when running for any political position in most cases, but these politicians are ‘hired’ by taxpayers to do a very specific job. We have allowed them to make a mockery of the halls of Congress and take on issues that they have no business addressing. The truth is, as congress men and women, you are subject to public scrutiny, that is your job. You, though, have a moral obligation to represent the people of the country to the best of your and have no right to use the publicity available to you to attack private citizens or get involved in issues beyond the scope of your work. If you want to address those individuals and issues, you have every right to do so outside of the halls of Congress, but you should still refrain.
Today becoming elected to congress is a great stepping stone towards wealth and notoriety. It wasn’t intended to be this way. Our founders intentions were to fill Congress with those willing to make a sacrifice for the greater good. Our congress men and women were to be moral and just. They were not intended to be rewarded financially for their service, instead they were to serve to better our country. George Washington nearly went broke while serving his country, but he served with honor.
Congress, be honorable, act as though you are adults, representing the people of the greatest country our world has ever witnessed.
