Congress is Not Fulfilling Its Duties

By 70 Ex-Senators

Feb 25, 2020

Washington Post article

From 70 bipartison ex-senators in Feb 2020: Congress is not fulfilling its constitutional duties. Much of the responsibility rests on the Senate. We are writing to encourage the creation of a bipartisan caucus of incumbent senators who would be committed to making the Senate function as the Framers of the Constitution intended.

The Constitution specifically outlines that all legislative powers are given to the Senate and House of Representatives. When they shirk their duty, policymaking is left to the less democratic executive and judicial branches.

Congress is supposed to have the power to:

• Regulate international trade
• Authorize the use of military force in foreign conflicts
• Approve the financial aspects of declared national emergencies

Through intimidate and bullying, Trump has the majority Senate wrapped around his little finger. An Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader, is only too happy (or scared) to oblige. Leaving Congress duties to our Narcissist-in-Chief has many negative ramifications, most of all providing a check and balance on the executive branch this is designed to protect the liberties on which our democracy depends.

This has become so bad that many Senators have questioned why they are even in office.

Exercising these powers granted to Congress doesn't mean everyone has to agree. Quite the opposite. Congress is designed for different points of view and debate to determine what is in the best interest of the American people, not what is in the best interest of Donald Trump.

The House seems to be doing their job. But the legislative process is no longer working in the Senate for several reasons:

• Senate committees have lost responsibility for writing legislation
• Filibusters have shut down action on the floor
• The Senate majority leader is sitting on over 150 legislative actions from the House refusing to bring them to a vote

This pretty much means nothing is happening in the Senate.

A BIG change is required to allow both bipartisan participation in meaningful committee work as well as on the Senate floor.

The Senate is a body of elected officials who are supposed to be championing important issues that potentially affect us all. It is time for action and to challenge the current status quo. The 70 senators wrote a great conclusion to their op-ed:"

We know that accepting this challenge may put some of you at political risk. But we are also confident that each of you chose to serve in public life to advance the cause of a “more perfect union.” Our hope is that all of you will accept this challenge to advance that timeless and higher purpose. "The Senate — and the proper functioning of our republic — are simply too important to be allowed to continue on their present course."