Here at the Castle, we find ourselves nodding in agreement, shaking our head, and with an occasional snerk. My comments inserted in [brackets] in the text.
AFTER FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE, BOYDA LISTS TOP 10 PROBLEMS WITH WASHINGTON, D.C.by Rep. Nancy Boyda
If you're like most Kansans, you trust Washington about as far as you can sling a piano – and with good reason. From the Abramoff lobbying scandal to the Craig sex scandal, from $3 gasoline to the endless war in Iraq, from the skyrocketing national debt to the runaway cost of health care, Washington has proven time and again that it doesn't deserve your trust.
[Actually, I blame $3 a gallon gas on the enviros who have prevented exploitation of new sources, construction of refining capacity to match demand, and those darned Chinese and Indians who insist on taking their shot at some economic growth. I'm also guessing that $3 a gallon gas will spur some creativity on the part of smart people to come up with broadly functional alternatives to fossil fuels. And don't necessarily trust the government to be all that creative on the issue. But that's just me, and there's no doubt that some people are hurting. And lest we think I'm talking from the position of not buying much fuel...heck, it costs $60 to fill the Castle pick-up, which is a vehicle of necessity on the Castle's acreage... and I cringe when I buy diesel for the tractor. And that's untaxed diesel. I do charity work where, among other things, we provide assistance to people who can't pay their heating bills, and we try to help people find jobs... I have a real idea of the impact. There are people who are severely crunched, and we'll all feel it in transportation costs... but the market will sort it out quicker than the government will. The government has a role facilitating, perhaps. But beware legislative solutions to huge problems that are overly prescriptive.]
If Kansans hope to clean up our nation's capital, I believe that our first step must be to define the problem. Why, exactly, do we have so little faith in our leaders? What has gone wrong?
[So many pander, rather than lead, and we reward them for that. It's not our leader's fault... it's ours for sending them back.]
If you ask me, there isn't just one problem – there are many. I could probably list a hundred, but for now, here are what I see as the top ten things wrong with Washington, D.C. today.
10. Capitol Hill is an ethical swamp. Earlier this year, in an effort to begin cleaning up Capitol Hill, I authored legislation to strip the government pensions of Members of Congress who commit federal crimes. The good news: My provision passed the House unanimously and was signed into law by the president. The bad news: So much work remains to be done. Until Congress is held accountable by a powerful, independent ethics committee, corruption will remain the rule rather than the exception.
[That will help, until the bad guys figure out how to flex and adapt, and only if the commission has teeth that can't be removed by procedural gimmickry. But until we the people refuse to send the rascals back election after election... it will only help. Term limits would of course, just remove them by fiat... just a thought.]
9. D.C. kicks Americans while they're down. If you're a middle-class Kansan having difficulty paying to heat your home this winter, or if you're working hard but can't afford health care for your kids, or if you're disabled in a car accident, don't look to Washington for help. Although Congress has passed several bills to help the middle class, all have been vetoed by the president.
8. Washington is out of touch with the heartland. Many of my colleagues in Congress only visit their districts a few times a year. They simply don't have a clue what life is like for everyday Americans. I've worked hard to avoid being trapped "inside the Beltway" – for example, I turned down the Congressional health care plan so that I stay in touch with the cost of health insurance, and I fly home to Kansas nearly every weekend – but far too many politicians have lost contact with their constituents.
[I'll give Nancy this - she spends a lot of time back here in the district, talking and listening, whether or not you like the conclusions she draws on any given issue. As I told her legislative director yesterday - I wouldn't take her job if they doubled the pay and appointed me to it. Which, of course, is a part of the problem. The people who want the jobs, oft times shouldn't be allowed to have them. But, of course, if we the people would do *our* job, that wouldn't matter near as much.]
7. Lawmakers play hide-and-seek in the federal budget. Every single Member of Congress can request federal funds for "earmarked" projects in their communities; most never release their requests to the public. You have no way of knowing how your elected officials want to spend your tax dollars. That's just wrong. Members of Congress should be required to disclose their earmark requests to the public. I was the first representative in Kansas history to do so: You can view a full list of my requests at www.boyda.house.gov.
[I'll agree with this, too. I don't mind my Federal representation mining the Federal budget for the district/state. Not at all. As long as they're willing to do it in an open, stand-up fashion. If you're afraid of what people will say if they were to see where you were putting money... then my guess is we probably shouldn't be spending that money. If you don't want to have to defend it, don't spend it.]
6. D.C. has abandoned our kids. Earlier this year, a Kansas man found guilty of possessing child pornography walked free because Congress had written a needlessly vague law. I authored legislation to close this loophole, and the House of Representatives passed it unanimously last month – but Congress should have done its job right the first time. Washington has ignored our kids in other ways, too: Just look at the President's veto of the critically important Children's Health Insurance program, or the consistent underfunding of our schools under No Child Left Behind.
[Life as a Congressperson is all about making hard choices. Make some (that's a general bullet at all of 'em, not Boyda in particular). I had an exchange of email on that subject which I should post.]
5. Politicians use, then abuse, our nation's veterans. Our VA facilities are badly overburdened. Many veterans wait months or years to receive the medical care they need. Congress took a major step toward fixing the problem by passing $5.2 billion in emergency funding for the VA, but at many facilities, the backlogs remain severe.
[As one of the people Nancy relies on for information and advice in this arena, I can only say she's doing the best she can to walk the walk - but it takes several hundred people in Congress to walk the walk, and an Executive Branch willing to do what's needed, in a sustained manner. And it has to span Congresses and Administrations. History is not kind to either branch of government on this issue. As the sound of the guns recedes, so to does the interest in those people the government used up to advance the nation's policy imperatives at the risk of life and limb, and many times under compulsion. And this is a bi-partisan failure, make no mistake. A failure that stretches back beyond the Founding. And the people share the blame. The anti-war crowd is all about how the death toll from the campaign in Iraq is so sad, so terrible, and such a waste. But they didn't give a damn when the same number of US warriors died in training and other accidents in any given year when there was no active campaigning going on. Just sayin']
4. Washington is gambling with our national security. The war in Iraq has stretched America's strategic readiness dangerously thin. Our military will need about ten years to reset its resources across the globe, and until then, America will be ill-equipped to respond to terrorist attacks or rogue nations. The world is growing more dangerous each day. Congress must take steps to rebuild our readiness and refocus our military on global threats.
[I'm thinking a bit of hyperbole here. Respond to terrorist attacks? Well, if by that we need to invade someone, sure, we're pretty tapped out for any long campaigning. But the AF and Navy are currently pretty capable of handling things in a fashion like we did in the 90's (leaving aside the issue of whether or not that was an *effective* response), and we can still conduct smash-and-grab-style attacks if needful. But, the rest of it is true enough. We've chosen to fight this war without going all out ala WWII, and that's a limiting factor. But any serious thought on global strategic issues from the Democrats is a welcome change of pace - and especially if they're willing to provide the impetus for some of the governmental structural changes that might make the need for muscular kinetic responses less likely.]
3. Congress doesn't understand the word "illegal." Illegal immigration is undermining our nation's economy and endangering our security. America can't ignore this problem any longer, and we can't afford another 1986-style amnesty. We need meaningful, aggressive immigration reform that strengthens our borders and cracks down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. And we need it now.
[With ya here, Nancy.]
2. Republicans and Democrats can't play in the same sandbox. Turn on C-SPAN for an hour, and see if you can spot even five minutes of substantive debate. An unseemly amount of House floor time is wasted on shouting matches; the Senate is routinely a hair's breadth away from a filibuster. Republicans and Democrats rarely even talk to each other, let alone accomplish real work. In my role as Republican Liaison for the freshman class of Democratic representatives, I'm working hard to reach across party lines. Too often, partisanship gets in the way of progress.
[Can't argue too much with this, either. As long as "bi-partisan substantive debate" is not defined as "gimme what I want" or I'll taunt you another time... as so often is the case, on either side of the aisle.]
1. NAFTA. You'd be hard-pressed to find a politician in America who hasn't, at some point or another, acknowledged problems with the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA is dragging down our economy, weakening our borders, and devastating our manufacturers. After fourteen years, it's time to either fix NAFTA or get the heck out of it. In early December, I'll introduce legislation to require precisely that.
[I'm neutral here, if only because of the yawing gap of ignorance I suffer from on the details of the issue. I'll leave that to econ-bloggers.]
These problems are daunting, and they won't disappear overnight. But they can be solved, and the solution begins with individual Kansans – people like you.
[Aw, gee thanks, Nancy!]
As I've so often said, democracy is a contact sport. If we want to have any hope of cleaning up the Washington train wreck, each and every one of us must do our part.
Mostly by demanding high standards from our reps, and sending 'em home when they don't meet 'em. Regardless of party.
Now then... mebbe I misunderstand the ranking system... but I don't think NAFTA is the #1 problem in Washington, even if Nancy did send this out to bolster her announcement about her NAFTA legislation.
Me, I think I'd rank her list thusly, with my #1 at the top:
1. Capitol Hill is an ethical swamp.
2. Washington is out of touch with the heartland.
3. Republicans and Democrats can't play in the same sandbox.
Yanno, I'll stop here. Fix these, the others will all fall into line.
And I know who's fault it is. The person who, collectively, can fix it without a single new law. The voter. Us. We get the government we demand, when we keep sending the same faces back, over and over. No, of course it's not that simple. But it's a start.
10 Comments