Jim Hlavac
Domestic Affairs
Domestic Affairs
Congress is low on the scale of respected institutions.  And few people can really
figure out what they are doing and why.  One odd thing is that despite how low
congress itself is nearly everyone thinks their congressman is the greatest thing ever.

     One of the biggest problems with Congress is that too many of the politicians are
more concerned with preserving their own perogatives than they are about solving
problems. Another big problem is that they think that Congress can solve all
problems in the country.  Still another issue with Congress is that they look for
problems that aren't there so that they have something to fix.  And most odiously,
they create problems so that then they can come to the rescue.  Why, just pass
another law.  

     However, Congress has done little to sovle anything, and probably creates more
problems with each new piece of legislation than it solves.  One reason that is is
beucase there are so many amendments to every law that by the time it gets passed
there is no focus, only little bits and pieces of legislation that add up to a major law.  
Just like kings of old, the Congress wants to make major laws so that they can crow
how they did something for the people, all the while trying to keep their powers.  

     A do nothing congress is probably one of the best things for the country.  That's
when no new laws are passed and so no mischief is done.  Congress is also always
trying to pass comprehensive laws that cover the whole country and every situation
that a problem presents.  What is usually needed are much more local solutions that
can be tailored to the local situation.

     Congress has taken after the kings of old in trying to obfuscate and confuse
everything so that people have no idea what is happening.  Somehow Congress
never gets around to getting rid of laws.  They are only about adding laws.  And we
problably have enough laws.

     Congress has a hard time appropriating money for the reasonable things they do
because individual congressmen always add their pet projects, which result in
unweildly laws.  And if there are 24 or so federal departments why are there just 13
appropriations bills?  Wouldn't it make for a better understanding of the budget and
for each cabinet level agency if each was considered by itself.  Then we could make
amendments that are germane to that issue.  

     There is also a philosophical, and somewhat legal issue, long ignored.  Congress
is filled with lawyers. This is probably unconstitutional at its core, because lawyers
are 'officers of the court' and thus are part of the judiciary branch. The constitution
states clearly that no member of one branch can serve in another branch at the
same time.  So we need to move ahead and make this clearer, even if it takes a
constitutional amendment to ban practicing lawyers from serving in Congress.

     Congress also needs to be restrained from exempting itself from all the laws it
passes.  It must be held to the same standards as the rest of the country, otherwise
they get the idea that they are special and apart from the law.  Congress is sinking
into the divine right of kings with this sort of exemption. Indeed it is often refered to
as sovereign immunity.  This idea is part of the divine right and we must rid ourselves
of it.