By making these simple adjustments in the way things are done, starting with making sufficient time available to do them, Congress can begin to move in the direction of restoring a culture of legislating. That is something Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, committed to do at the beginning of this Congress, and he deserves encouragement from members and the public to continue.
What struck me the most about the roundtable participants was their abiding love of Congress and concern about its future. This became clear in their willingness to spend hours discussing with their colleagues of both parties how best to improve the institution’s ability to legislate in the nation’s interest. Let’s hope it’s contagious, beginning this week.
Don Wolfensberger is a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a resident scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and former staff director of the House Rules Committee.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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