Reforming Congress

For the last several years, the approval rating of the U.S. Congress has dropped. They continue to rule over us rather the represent us. “We the people” must remember that they only have power at our consent.

As your representative, I will work to reform congress. Below are a few of the initiatives I would push for:

Return to Citizen Legislatures – Congressmen need to spend more time in their district and less time in Washington. The number of days that congress is in session needs to be reduced to no more than 150 days unless the President calls for a special session.

Quarterly Town Hall Meetings – Representatives should be required to have quarterly town hall meetings. The meetings must be open to the public and publicized sufficiently.

No Exemptions – Congress cannot exempt itself from its own laws. If a law is good enough for the people, it is good enough for the President, Congress, and all the government departments. Any current laws from which the Congress has exempted themselves needs to be repealed or revised to remove the exemption.

Cut Staff Size – The smaller the staff, the less they can do to hurt us.

Read the Bill – All legislation must be read by the representative before it can be passed. Every bill should have at least a 72-hour review period before it can come before the House for a vote. This will give the people a chance to review the bill.

Two-thirds Majority to Raise Taxes – The people of the United States of America need to be protected from a congress that can raise taxes to fill its own desire to spend money.

Eliminate earmarks and Special Deals – No more buying of votes through special amendments, funding, or earmarks. If the representative cannot vote for the bill without receiving a special favor then the representative should vote against the bill.

Representatives Must Vote – A representative must be present and capable of voting at least 95% of the time. We need to ensure that our representatives are doing their duty.