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I feel like it's more important to bring new blood in. Only through that can the new people gain experience in office, because that's important too. If we just keep bringing in the same old people, we are taking away the chance for new and younger people to gain experience and have a louder voice in office.

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Absolutely. Why is a congressman's viewpoint suddenly invalid just because he's a politician? Politician or not, anyone is allowed to have their own viewpoint and opinions, and it's on them if they change. They're just like anyone else, if their opinions on a matter change, FINE. Let it, don't punish them for their opinion from 30 years ago.

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I think that people can change, but I also think that a part of them old self stay with them. But with this person who made a racist comment, that was a large part of the 50s-80s. There was a lot of racist people back then. It was a part of the civil rights movement. But if he can prove that he has changed and no longer believes that other races should not have voting rights. He just needs to be careful about what he says.

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I agree with Devan, it's not very common for people to travel far from their roots or what they kind of grew up believing. So that might pose to be a problem unless they REALLY show that they have changed through their actions.

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I do think that people change as time goes on because people learn and society progresses but I do think there needs to be caution because as Devan said, people stick with their roots and those ideas never really leave what they originally thought. People say they may change and with a position like he'll have, I don't think its right to give him it because you can't take back your actions or opinions. Some citizens aren't always going to trust him because of his words and speech and this does in turn create problems down the road.

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I agree with Amanda, and how they bring checks and balances, and the president doesn't get all the control.

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I don't think this would be the best way to represent minorities. The people of the state are the ones voting for the senators, another seat wouldn't just "fix" that problem. It's the people's voice that chooses who becomes the senators, not some racially biased elites.

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The more people we have in anything, it is a lot harder to get things done, but i believe there should be more different voices and ideas. There needs to be a balance of ideas and amount of people.

Possibly to help the incumbency problem, we should have a retirement age.

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I think that could be a good choice, it could add another voice for each state to represent the minority a little bit better. It would add another person for each state and fifty extra opinions, but it could diminish the incumbents capacity of control.

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I feel like another position open would be a good idea because, like they said, it wouldn't be incumbents, it would be new people. That wouldn't do harm, I feel like it would only work to benefit because NEW voices would be heard, which is what we need.

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This question depends on what you define ¨effective" as. If you want Congress to get a lot done, it is not effective. However, if you are wanting to control the power they all have, then it is effective. The latter was the purpose of the US using a bicameral Legislation.

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I personally would rather be in the Senate due to the fact that there are less people and you would have more of a voice and a say in things that you think should happen. Although, since there are less people, the amount of responsibility would go up. Also, since the Senate deals with foreign policy and the US spends a lot on foreign affairs which would help with the House.

I think that the US population doesn't care as much for change and if we were to add more people to the Senate, it would be hard to get that passed.

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(I'm typing everything in one note.)

I think that the House Rules Committee has the potential to be controlled, since the Speaker of the House is the one appointing them, therefore, if the Speaker tries to control them, the Committee would be less effective in making decisions for themselves.

I'm not quite sure how I would feel about more Representatives and Senators. I really like Mrs. Ammons' suggestion about a third seat for non-incumbents in the Senate. This would be great since it would increase the diversity of at least one house of Congress. This is a proposal I would agree with. I'm still unsure about adding Representatives, because if the new addition of Representatives is still based on the Census, then California and populous states would still gain more voters. But I definitely agree with the idea of increasing diversity and voices in Congress.

It's definitely hard to balance ethics with politics. Sometimes people change, but it's hard to prove; I agree with what Jackson said: if you prove you've changed, then allow them to take part in politics still. But at the same time, I agree with Devan: people will stick to their roots. Ethically, we are conflicted; while at one time, we want to be optimistic and think that people have changed, but on a different notion, we are afraid to trust these people again.

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Personally, I would run for the House of Representatives because I believe that the budget needs to be addressed before the country can make any significant improvements.

Lastly, filibusters were originally created to allow minorities to be heard. However, filibusters can halt the progress of the Senate for up to a week and prevent the Senate from addressing other pressing issues. Should the Senate have more rules against filibusters? I think it would be helpful to have rules against abusing filibusters because they were created as a way to hear new ideas rather than halting the progress of bills going through the Senate.

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I would want to be in the senate because they are less disciplined and centralized, plus more interested in foreign policy.

I agree with Justen, if there are so many different directions the members thoughts are coming from it may make it more difficult. if it is in a organized manner would be the only way that would work out successfully.

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Andrew has a point. Not everybody is for change and yes even though t

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Despite the low approval rating, incumbents are most successful because in addition to the lack of strong opponents, they are most engaged in activities which help with reelection.

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Congressmen should not be able to pick their pay because not all of them do enough to help. And people would not be happy with them increasing their pay, so they would not be most likely voted back into office.

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Kathy I agree. Although there are low approval ratings for Congress, incumbents have so many advantages it is harder for them not to win.

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I think we keep electing incumbents because we are comfortable with them. Also, I agree with Kathy in saying that voters aren't politically educated. I think people are okay with having someone they don't like in office because one, they don't know any better and two, voters may not want to try to vote someone else in because that might cause more chaos.

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I disagree that people in office should be able to control their own salaries. It's criminal to be able to control your own income because it's not your own money that you're giving to yourself, you are effectively collecting taxpayer money to give to yourself just because.

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For me, I would want to be part of the house because not as many people are in the house and while being able just do it for 2 years while making a name for me self.

I think a large number would allow the different opinions to be heard and the different ethnicity to contribute.

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I would run for the senate because I would rather want to deal with foreign policy.

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Their salary goes far beyond just the money they make, they have all the privileges that they get like franking, the use of military hospitals in the D.C metropolitan area, travel allowance, and the privilege from arrest. Their salary isn't just the money they make.

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Alex I think that is a great idea. Having the House and the Senate create the wages for the opposite house of Congress, so that it becomes a check to ensure that they aren't raising their wages.

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For why incumbents keep getting voted in, I think Americans are just so uneducated about what a candidate is doing in office. People will notice if they recognize the name of the candidate and vote for those people

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I think the salary of congressmen are justified. When we were first learning about the different houses, I didn't think congressmen should be able to set their salary. But now that we have looked into all of the duties of a congressmen, I think it is appropriate because it shows respect and appreciation.

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I agree that congressmen are getting payed fairly because they work really hard.

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People are afraid of change, Americans prefer to vote the person that they've seen the most of on media and don't care about his/her perspectives on things.

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They do a lot of work for the people, and a ton of responsibilities, so I believe that their pay is an acceptable amount. As for their ability to make their own pay, the change does not come into effect until the next group of officials are elected, and it isn't guaranteed that they will be back in Congress.

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I would run for senate because I like learning about foreign policy and in the senate you deal with foreign policy more than the house does. Also you only have to run for reelection every 6 years rather than every 2 years.

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I would want to be in the senate because it has more stable positions while being able to take on foreign policy for our country, while not having to tackle the debt in our country.

I don't think they should be able to choose what they want to be paid, I think it is a way for them to con themselves into being paid more then they may actually deserve. I agree with Kristina alot of the time they are not actually doing much of anything helpful.

I think Americans are afraid of the change, they would prefer to elect the name they have seen the most of, because most people don't pay much attention to politics and just go with the name they know on the ballot

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I would rather be in the Senate due to less people giving me more name recognition and ability to deal with less people.

I think that the amount they're paid is actually fine because they don't earn a whole bunch compared to people with similar levels of responsibilities, meaning they don't earn near as much as CEOs. Also their schedules are full of work that requires them to work for 24 hours a day almost.

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I think I would want to be in the Senate because they are more removed from the people, and the Senate deals with foreign policy which interests me.

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I totally agree with Mehail more, I feel as though it would be much easier to get into the House in terms of 435 vs 100 people. It seems as though it's more of a risk reward argument. If you run for Senate you would be spending more money for campaigning but it would be "more worth your time," like other Alex said.

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I would lean more towards wanting to be in the Senate, they are less disciplined and centralized. Plus foreign policy is more interesting.

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I agree with Amanda, and how they bring about checks and balances, and not all control goes to the President. Multiple groups are able to have power, not just one.

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I would run for the senate because I'm more interested in impacting smaller groups and helping decide on more foreign policy.

Although, I do enjoy the campaign process, just not putting all the money into it.

I think they should choose their own pay. They do work really hard and do a lot for the people, so I feel like it doesn't really matter if they choose or if someone else chooses. They wouldn't work there if they did't agree with the given income.

I think finding new people to bring in is very important. People will always have the same core beliefs and we need completely new ideas once in a while.

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Yes Maddie! If I were to run for Congress I wouldn't want to be in politics for forever, so running for the House would be my choice.

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I agree with Marty because they have  a lot to accomplish and roles to fulfill, but i think there should be a check and balance to help with their pay to make sure they're receiving the appropriate amount.