And academics are part of this discussion hosted by american Political Science association. Routinely congress pulled very portable people as whether they approved of the job it is doing. This trend is bipartisan whether democrats or Republicans Control Congress most people assign it a failing grade. The trend is also a longstandig peer over the past Decade Congress has not once achieved Approval Rating above 30 . It wasnt always this way. During the 1990s congress Approval Rating typically were in the 40s and 50s. Today they hover in the teens and the 20s. Once thought to be the great repository of americas republican Principles Congress is now referred to as a broken branch. Why exactly has Congress Come to this point . What are the causes of the dysfunction . Has anything changed since trumps election and the democratic takeover of the house . Can this longstanding state of affairs be changed . Can congress be reformed, it is so what do we need to do to reform it . To answer these q
160th congress 116th congress. The American Political Science Association hosted this 90 minute event. Association, live coverage here thanks to all of you for coming to hear about whether or not congress is still dysfunctional. A fulle will provide background of whats going on on capitol hill. It is no secret to political scientists, nor to the members of congress or the american people, that congress is a mess. Congress routinely polls poorly and this trend is bipartisan. Republicanscrats or control congress, most assigned us a failing grade. Over the past decade, congress has not once approved in Approval Rating over 30 . During the 1990s, congresss Approval Ratings were in the 40s and the 50s. Today, they are in the teens and 20s. Once thought to be the great repository of americas republican principles, it is now a broken branch. Why has Congress Come to this point . What are the causes of congresss dysfunction . Has anything changed since trumps election and the democratic takeov
Pollsess pulls poorly poorly and this trend is bipartisan. Democrats and republicans, most assignment a failing grade. Over the past decade, congress has not once approved in Approval Rating over 30 . Congresss 990s, Approval Ratings were in the 40s and the 50s. Today, they are in the teens and 20s. Once thought to be the great repository of americas republican principles, it is now a broken branch. Why has Congress Come to this point . Martha causes . Has anything changed since trumps election and the democratic takeover of the house . Can this state of affairs be changed . To answer this question, we have assembled a distinguished panel of experts on congress with a variety of perspectives and i will introduce them quickly in alphabetical order. I will introduce them all so we can launch into their remarks. Our first speaker is catherine pearson, associate professor of Political Science at the university of minnesota. She worked for several years as an assistant to several members of
Up next a senate panel looks at the pros and cons of setting term limits for advocate. Advocates argue that term limits would allow them to spend time raising money for reelection. We hear from senator jim demint at this subcommittee hearing on the constitution. Good afternoon. This hearing is called to order. I apologize that we are slightly delayed. We had a series of votes on the senate floor. But it is good now to convene the hearing. Let me begin by thanking all of you for attending. And thank youing senator hirono oh efor working with plea and my staff to convene the hearing and bring the witnesses together. The topic before us is one, i believe, of great importance. The need for term limits for members of congress so that we begin to fix what is broken here in washington politics. Before i introduce our first panel id like to explain why weve organized todays hearing. The 2016 election, the American People made a resounding call to drain the swamp. That is modern washington. And
Weve organized todays hearing. The 2016 election, the American People made a resounding call to drain the swamp. That is modern washington. And sadly this is a bipartisan problem. The American People have lost confidence in washington and especially in congress. And it isnt hard to see why. Enmeshed in back room deals and broken promises, our capitol has too often become a political playground for the powerful and well connected. For members of the permanent Political Class looking to accumulate more and more power at the expense of american taxpayers. As part of his promise to drain the swamp, President Trump strongly endorsed and campaigned on passing congressional term limits. Though our founders didnt include term limits in the constitution, they feared the creation of a permanent Political Class that existed parallel to rather than within american society. As Benjamin Franklin observed, quote, in free governments, the rulers are the servants. And the people their superiors. For th