Congress Must Change Its Rules

It would be easy to fix the entitlement attitude members of Congress have with some rule changes. The major catch in the plan I will be outlining is that only Congress, the House and the Senate, can change the rules. Many members are not about to give up their cushy leadership positions in order to more effectively serve those who elected them to office.

My rule change suggestions would apply to both houses of Congress. Here it is:

1. Eliminate seniority in Congress. Each after each election each member of Congress starts over at Square One when they take the Oath of Office. It is the same oath and the same rules apply to freshman legislators as to those who have been reelected many times. This proposal would do away the the designation of "Senior Member."

2. No member of Congress shall serve in any leadership position more than once. No member of Congress shall serve in any leadership position for more than one congress (two years). No member of Congress shall seek a leadership position without having served a minimum of two congresses without such a position.

Campaign financing:

I hated getting fundraising emails this past campaign season from outside of Maryland's 1st Congressional District. Congressional fundraising should be done only within the district in question. For this to happen the Constitution would have to be so amended.

3. No one running for a seat in the House of Representatives or the Senate shall accept campaign contributions from outside the congressional district they are running for in the case of the House of Representatives or the state they reside in in the case of the Senate. All congressional campaigns shall be funded by those residents the members shall represent.

4. Members of the House of Representatives must maintain a home and reside within the congressional district they are elected to serve. Likewise Senators must maintain a home and reside in the State from which they have been elected.

Congress must reform its rules if it is to be a true representative government. Congress was never intended to be a lifetime profession for its members.

This missive has been written solely by Onnie Duvall who is solely responsible for its content.