The Price of Dysfunction
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It would be hyperbolic to say that the United States is facing more serious issues today than at other times in its history, but its current slate of problems is certainly consequential. Undoubtedly, these problems cannot truly be solved without action on the part of Congress. The results of a series of polls conducted by the Pew Research Center, published on April 7th, showed that most Americans (56%) believe that the United States is not capable of solving major problems. This is up from just a year ago when 57% of Americans still believe that it could solve major problems. The pessimism about the United States’ ability to deal with major challenges, is shared equally among Democrats and Republicans, at 58% and 52% respectively. The same survey indicated that over 60% of Americans disapprove of the job both political parties are doing in Congress.
The increasingly performative and ineffectual nature of Congress is self-evident. The Congresses of the 50s and 60s regularly passed over 1000 bills per session but the numbers have dropped significantly. No Congress since the 108th in 2003 has passed over 500. The number of bills passed is far from an exact measure of congressional effectiveness. The topics addressed and the size and scope of the bills passed are harder to measure. However, the most pressing issues of today never seem to be resolved or improved. Often this is the result of the once seldom-used but now standard filibuster. For example, there have been over 1000 bills or resolutions proposed in the House of Representatives and over 800 proposed in the Senate concerning immigration since the year 2000, and yet the issue has not been addressed in any meaningful fashion. In the 116th Congress alone there were over 90 proposed in the House and over 50 in the Senate, very few of which became law. The ones that do become law are generally too obscure for Americans to even know about, such as the Venezuela TPS Act, which granted Temporary Protected Status to some Venezuelan nationals living in the United States.
Meanwhile, investigations and oversight are growing more partisan. Oversight is a key function of Congress and has long contributed to the theatric side of American politics. Harry Truman’s participation in the Special Committee to Investigate National Defense Programs (Aka the Truman Committee) and Richard Nixon’s involvement in the House Unamerican Activities Committee were both great political theatre and major steppingstones in the careers of both men. However, the oversight of today’s Congress feels much less substantive. For example, the new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The concept could actually be a worthy endeavor if there was any faith that the committee would be used to do anything except weaponize the federal government in the very way it is claiming to investigate. Research has shown that a split in control of the presidency and the House has always led to an increase in oversight. This seems to have increased with the last few congresses. The Democratic oversight of the Trump administration, including two impeachments, has led to a series of revenge hearings that run the risk of creating a destructive pattern.
The increasingly performative nature of Congress is bad for America in several ways but two in particular stand out. The first is that it exacerbates artificial differences. Polls frequently show that there is more agreement on an issue than you would believe if you just looked at Congress. Because political performances are made to appeal to the most extreme groups on each wing of the parties it exaggerates the difference. This is dangerous because the ‘silent majority’ is essentially stuck watching. Elections are not won by finding common ground with your opponent, but by highlighting the differences. The never-ending election cycle in the United States has led to a need to highlight differences by finding them as frequently as possible. It is not uncommon to see the political parties completely swap positions without a hint of irony simply to oppose the other side. Culture wars are fomented and new issues on which to stoke the anger of party members are sought out to feed an exaggerated bunker mentality on both sides. The all-important election metric of voter turnout is driven less by support for one side and more by fear of the other.
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