Once a serious legislative institution, today’s Congress requires reform. This problem is not partisan; it is institutional. Today’s members care more about showmanship than craftsmanship or leadership. They mistake publicity for governance and surrender legislative authority to other institutions. We require responsible leaders who will carry out their core constitutional duties seriously. Consider this: Congress last completed the full appropriations process on time nearly 30 years ago, in 1997. AOL chat rooms were becoming popular; Titanic was released; Kylie Jenner was born. Today, government shutdowns are common.Congress is whistling past the graveyard on other matters as well. Because it has not addressed immigration seriously since the ’80s and ’90s, Americans now endure a broken, dangerous system. Congress also avoids structural reforms to Social Security and Medicare, even as debt and demographic pressures mount.
TRUMP-BACKED KEVIN HERN WINS OKLAHOMA SENATE PRIMARY TO REPLACE MARKWAYNE MULLIN
It was not always so.
Congress once knew how to legislate, passing consensus-backed bills at a rate of more than one law per legislative day. By the 118th Congress (2023-24), that figure fell to 0.39. Per hour worked, Congress once produced more than 20 laws per 100 hours in session; today it produces 9.5.
