Approval ratings for Congress are at an all-time low. Seventy percent of Americans surveyed believe Congress is doing a poor job. Most Americans believe Congress is failing and failing badly in running our country. Why? The growing federal deficit is certainly the main reason, but there are many other reasons. Lobby groups seem to control Congress in the eyes of Americans. We like to think we elect a member of the House or Senate and that they represent our interests, but it has become clear to most that the lobby groups pull  the strings in Congress. These groups help fund Congressional elections and, thus, they are able to exert more influence over Congress than constituents. Legislative excess is another. Americans see Congress as nothing more than a bill making machine. One law is passed after another. Partisanship is yet another problem inherent in our bi-cameral legislative branch. Democrats and Republicans never seem to see eye to eye and the byproduct of this is a stagnant Congress. The few things we do want Congressional action on, just never seem to get get accomplished. Tort reform in health care, balanced budget legislation,  tax simplification. The list goes on and on. Nothing gets done in Congress except that which seems to directly increase the deficits. Americans are just fed up with Congress and our patience has run out. So what can be done?

The Heart of the Problem
The real problem with Congress is not the representatives we elect to office. The real problem is how Congress operates. Its infrastructure needs reform. The fact is most in Congress spend an inordinate amount of time raising money from special interest groups and lobbyists. They spend less time on legislative endeavors than in campaigning. Why? Because they need money to get re-elected. Campaigning takes up most of their time. If we want to minimize the amount of time spent by Congress raising money for campaigns we need to eliminate their need to campaign for re-election in the first place. How? Term limits. By instituting term limits we can shut down this campaign raising machine once and for all. In my opinion the best way to do this is to limit members of the House and Senate to one, six-year term. We would stagger term limits for elected representatives every two years. For example, in 2012 one-third would be elected to one six-year term; in 2014 the second one-third and in 2016 the third one-third. By staggering the one, six-year term, we insure that one group (i.e. Democrats) would not be swept into office all at once, and Americans being stuck with one partisan group for six years.

Term limits would eliminate the need to campaign for re-election. Campaigning takes a great deal of time. Often as much as fifty percent of an elected official's time is spend on campaigning. How would term limits eliminate this wasted time? Elected officials would have one, six-year term and that's it. They have six years to get the job done. Since there would be no need to campaign, we would minimize the influence special interests and lobby groups currently enjoy. As a bonus, If Congress did not have to campaign for re-election, they would spend most of their time on legislative matters. We would, in effect, get a Congress that works one hundred percent of the time on legislative matters, rather than just fifty percent of the time. We would get twice the work for the same pay. Sounds great doesn't it?

Of course, Congress would never agree to this. They like the existence of special interest groups and lobby groups. Why? Because many in Congress go on to work for these groups and to make millions in exchange for influence peddling. Term limits would take away a very big pay day for members of Congress. The only available means to change the infrastructure of Congress through the establishment of term limits is through a constitutional amendment at the grass roots level; the state legislatures. And it would take leadership at the highest level. We would need to elect a President running on a platform of Congressional reform through the creation of a constitutional amendment. However unlikely this may seem, it is possible, given the very low approval ratings Congress now endures. The reality is, if we do not change the infrastructure of Congress, we will never eliminate the influence special interest groups and lobbyists have over them. And this influence oftemtimes overrides the good of the country.