
Photo credit: Architect of the Capitol

1. CONGRESSIONAL EXEMPLARS GENERALLY BELIEVE CONGRESS IS NOT FUNCTIONING AS IT SHOULD.
“A majority of Congressional leadership, Members and staff don't seem to have the institutional knowledge of best practices to know how Congress can better function, which seems to be leading to a vicious cycle of continual breakdown of the institution.”
—Professional Staff, House committee
“The pace at which Congress functions is too fast. Deliberations do not occur as a result. The increasingly large bills in terms of page size and scope of policy make refinement of the legislative text impossible. This leaves the Executive Branch and the President free to interpret the intent of Congress when Congress should be clearer in their intent.”
—Manager, House support office
“In recent years it seems leadership has consolidated a lot of power and weakened the committees. As a result, very little legislation is passed via regular order, and members and staff are frustrated by the lack of input, particularly on big bills.”
—Manager, House support office
“Member and staff training in foundational skills/knowledge that are unique to the work of the legislative branch could have an outsized impact on capacity.”
—Legislative Advisor, Senate personal office
“Congressional leadership has taken over control of some work previously done by Committees, especially in negotiating compromises. In doing so, legislation is more directed than debated, leading to inefficient processes.”
—Professional Staff Member, Senate committee

2. CONGRESSIONAL EXEMPLARS BELIEVE POLARIZATION AND RHETORIC ARE MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO GET THINGS DONE IN CONGRESS.
“Over the years the extremes in the parties have prevented efforts to advance legislation important to the American people. Moderates and those who worked across the aisle have diminished in number and few now want to work across the aisle to get things done.”
—Legislative Director, House personal office
“The breakdown in decorum and respect for opposing views, highlighted by the polarization of both parties to be drawn to their edges has made the institution a shadow of itself.”
—Chief of Staff, House personal office
“Ideological and partisan differences are always going to be there. But a social reward and incentive structure for shaming and injuring others has turned debate into rhetorical warfare and point scoring. Many are afraid to offer alternative views and opinions for fear of being damaged. Even within the same party.”
—Manager, House support office
“There is no trust. Many see the other party as the enemy, which is incredibly dangerous.”
—Staff Director, House committee
“The majority of people that serve (staff and members) are here for the right reasons and want to function and govern. It's a small but vocal minority that is trying to change that.”
—Chief of Staff, Senate personal office
“The incentive structure for collaboration is lower than at any point in my career.”
—Legislative Director, Senate personal office

3. SOLVING CONSTITUENTS’ PROBLEMS IS WHAT CONGRESSIONAL EXEMPLARS VIEW AS MEMBERS’ PRIMARY ROLE, BUT THEY ARE TORN ABOUT CONGRESS’ CURRENT PERFORMANCE.
“Please describe in 10 words or less what you consider to be Congress’ primary purpose.”
Public Service
• “To serve the American people.”
• “Be the People’s voice in government.”
• “To work together for the common good of all people.”
• “Improve people’s lives, restrain vices, and empower people to succeed.”
• “Serve as the voice of the people in government.”
• “To create laws to protect and empower the American people.”
“Please describe in 10 words or less what you consider to be Congress’ primary purpose.”
Constitutional Duties
• “The legislative powers defined in Article 1.”
• “To make laws, declare war, raise and allocate money, and conduct oversight.”
• “Legislate, appropriate, confirm (nominees), and facilitate (constituents with their govt.)”
• “Oversight is job one. Raising and spending revenue is next.”
• “Pass laws that fit within the framework of the Constitution.”
• “Congress has the power of the purse.”
“Please describe in 10 words or less what you consider to be Congress’ primary purpose.”
Lawmaking
• “To legislate and provide oversight.”
• “Deliberating the law that govern this nation.”
• “To make and amend federal laws.”
• “To make laws to advance the priorities of the nation.”
• “To legislate and provide a national platform for the public.”
• “To pass legislation agreed to by the people.”

4. CONGRESSIONAL EXEMPLARS THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR MEMBERS AND STAFFERS TO BE CIVIL AND TO WORK ACROSS PARTY LINES.
“Members have increasingly turned into bit players acting out a part in a political theatrical production vs. engaging as serious legislators/policymakers.”
—Chief of Staff, House personal office
“My sense is that most staff would generally welcome greater collaboration across the aisle, but that the political dynamics on both sides present a chilling effect on efforts to do so.”
—Chief of Staff, Senate personal office
“Bipartisanship is a misnomer. Members and staff working on behalf of their constituents in a manner consistent with a set of core beliefs—instead of a focus on generating social media metrics or feeding news media's constant need to generate content—will produce sound policy that the majority of Americans will support.”
—Chief of Staff, House personal office
“There's nothing wrong with members having strong views that are rooted in principle, but too many members seem to be chasing the applause of media and grassroots activists without any real understanding of the policy or why they believe what they do.”
—Chief of Staff, House personal office

5. CONGRESSIONAL EXEMPLARS SUGGEST AREAS WHERE THERE IS CLEAR OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT.
“When you think about the size of Congress versus the size of a single agency in the Executive Branch, it’s clear why everyone is stretched thin and most people have wide but shallow expertise.”
—Chief of Staff, House personal office
“Members should not and can not be experts on everything. Neither can leadership staff. Committees are where experience and expertise should be centralized.”
—Chief of Staff, House personal office
“The demands for a Member's attention, expectation of constituents, and everything else comes at a speed we could not have imagined when I started in Congress. The information flow is extraordinary. Little time to think, reflect and make reasoned [decisions] at the current, expected pace.”
—Constituent Service Staffer, Senate personal office
“I believe there are solutions to the problems Congress has; the question is whether we have the collective will to implement them.”
—Legislative Director, Senate personal office
“Congress is overwhelmed and overmatched (vis a vis the Executive Branch). It lurches from crisis to crisis and is unable to effectively "think", be strategic and proactive, and look ahead to future, or less pressing, problems.”
—Staff Director, House committee
“People who stay and have the institutional knowledge leave after a few years to make ‘real’ money. We need to do a lot to prevent good staffers from giving up on Congress.”
—Communications Director, House personal office

6. CONGRESSIONAL EXEMPLARS BELIEVE IMPROVEMENT IN CONGRESS WILL LIKELY REQUIRE BUILDING ITS CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
“I believe the one thing we definitely need to adjust is staff salaries to ensure we are keeping the best staff. They are the backbone of any office and their historical knowledge is essential to ensure performance of Members.”
—Chief of Staff, House personal office
“Congress is only as strong as its staff. As long as we aren't paying to recruit and retain the best, we won't have the best and Congress will suffer.”
—Legislative Director, Senate personal office
“I think there are structural issues that hamper Congress' ability to be effective, but there is an entirely separate bucket of issues (partisanship, media, etc.) that magnify the structural issues.”
—Manager, Senate support office
“While improvements are being made, technology and resources that expand Congressional bandwidth significantly lag behind the private sector.”
—Director of Operations, House personal office
“Dialogue between the public and Congress is more structurally broken than anytime I can recall . . . . while there are certainly more avenues for people to communicate, the sheer volume of incoming communication makes it hard to have any kind of dialogue, and it is not clear that the vast majority are actually even interested in a dialogue rather than monologue.”
—Chief of Staff, Senate personal office