It may be a slight exaggeration to call being a Congress person “the crummiest job in Washington” but it’s a lot closer to the truth than most of us would believe. I remember being amazed at the work-load of Congress when I was a lobbyist for Puerto Rico in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Add to this the fact that first-term congress people spend their first year trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing, and what the rules are for doing it, and the second year running for re-election. There are no training courses for newly-elected representatives, and probably no maps of the congressional buildings except, perhaps, in the tourist gift shops. In their first term, they are mostly lost and they certainly don’t have time to do anything useful. An article, this week, in the Economist indicates that, forty years later, the situation is now worse.
The article cites Don Bacon, a Republican congressman from Nebraska, as saying, “I just feel ground down. I’m tired of doing elections every two years. I’m tired of raising the necessary six to seven million dollars every two years … it’s a 12-14 hour daily grind. Don Bacon is one of 60, YES 60, members of Congress who say they will step down after this year’s mid-term elections.
The article goes on to document the typical week of a member of Congress: It starts with a red-eye flight to Washington over Sunday night. You arrive just in time to vote on a bill you have not had time to read – Party leaders whip you to approve or oppose it. Between 15 to 20 hours a week are spent with a “minder” in a dingy building phoning donors to fund your re-election campaign. Then you must attend several committee meetings, all scheduled at the same time, so you appear before each just long enough to craft a video clip to show your constituents that you are actually doing something for them. On Thursday, after your final vote, you dash to make your flight home for your weekend duties; a series of ribbon-cuttings and listening to constituents’ whinging.
Add to all of this the fact that in its last full term, 2023 to 2025, Congress passed just 274 bills, fewer than any Congress since the Civil War. It’s no wonder that just 17% of Americans approve of how Congress is doing its job.
It’s time to drastically re-organize congressional terms so that members actually have a chance to contribute to the nation’s growth and their constituents’ concerns. At least a three-year term, and maybe four, would be a good start.
It’s not the members fault, the requirements have totally outgrown the structure.
I should like to add here that the current new state law being considered by Montana and California, that will revoke the idea that corporations are individuals, and therefore subject to individual rights laws, will do a great deal to restrict the flow of money into congressional candidates’ coffers. This, in turn, will mean they have to spend a great deal less time fundraising and more time doing something useful. Note: Corporations and businesses are created by state law, and can therefore be regulated only by state law. This means states can ban campaign contributions as part of the regulatory framework under which companies operate. The Federal Government has nothing to do with this process, which makes it a much easier route to implement for banning campaign contributions. A Congressman having to raise $6-7 million every two years just to have a chance of being elected is absurd. It makes the old adage of “the best politicians money can buy” seem puny by comparison.
Finally, congressional salaries haven’t changed for 17 years, and the rise in threats to their persons and their families – 58% rise from 2024 to 2025 – means that any sensible person who wants to do the job, rather than grandstanding to satisfy their egos, wouldn’t go anywhere near the position.
TO STATE THE OBVIOUS, WE NEED FAR MORE SENSIBLE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DO THE JOB. WE HAVE ENOUGH EGOMANIACS IN THERE ALREADY.
I will be writing more on this. However, after writing this blog, I think I now agree with the Economist article title, it is the crummiest job in Washington.
