Congress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Congress - Essay Example Thus, the veracity of the claim of the ‘broken branch’ and the possible solution for fixing the ‘broken branch’ are discussed in the discussion which ensues forthwith. What Organizational Changes Congress Might Make To Work More Effectively It is true that in light of the limitations prevailing upon the Congress, there are some changes that can be ratified to make the Congress more effective. One of the changes which the Congress can make to work more effectively is instituting a room for the selection of an effective party leader with juniors working under this party leader. Another way to fix the US Congress is to build a better and more dynamic electoral system. This artifice can be achieved by establishing open primaries which would end gerrymandering among politicians. This is because, gerrymandering effectively provides politicians with a leeway which they use to pull away from their own districts. There cannot be proper representation in the event tha t politicians make a dereliction on their own jurisdiction. Conversely, amendments can be made to the rules of the Congress to make Congress function more effectively. The crux of the matter herein is that experts such as Mann and Ornstein contend that the problem besetting the Congress is not really about the representatives in the Congress, but the outdated traditions, procedures and rules which govern the operations of Congress which bar legislative processes and progress. Particularly, Article 1, Section 5 of the American Constitution reads that each House has the capacity to determine the Rules of its Proceedings. In this light, in the event that an incumbent Congress finds the rules, traditions and rules of its predecessor [to be] unproductive, archaic or inhibitive, members of the Congress may move in to amend these laws (Mann and Ornstein, 48). Amendments can also be made so that the remunerations of Congressmen can be tied to their performance. While some such as Vermeer ha ve christened this move as No-Budget-No-Pay principle, there is a strong push to this effect to bar Congress from getting paid, in the event that Congress fails to make budget spending and decision in time. The need for this move is underscored by the fact that since 1952, Congress has passed budget planning and spending bills in a timely manner, only four times. Despite this state of affairs, the gravity of the matter is underscored by the dire financial and political situations which stem from the failure of the Congress to pass budget spending and planning, as was seen on October 1, 2013. In this case, the US government came to a sudden halt when the House Republicans failed to agree on their efforts to link the passage of the 2014 budgets of the federal government since they were fighting against the implementation of the healthcare reform. Consequently, 40% [800,000 workers] of the US’ public service was temporarily forced out of work, while 1 million federal American em ployees were made to work without payment (Vermeer, 220). It is also important to have the Congress [to] have all presidential nominations either conformed or rejected within 90 days, after that the Senate receives the presidential nominations. The importance of this proposal has its underpinnings in developments which have taken place in the US Congress. In 2011, more than 200 positions that had been presidentially appointed remained unfilled, following the senators’