https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx Which issue do you feel creates the most dysfunction in Congress? What is your suggestion for addressing this issue? One post & two comments. en-us 2020-05-13 01:06:47 UTC 2020-05-31 23:55:40 UTC hello@padlet.com asshe21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571038203 I believe that gerrymandering is the biggest problem in Congress because it results in Congress's focus going away from the people they represent to instead focus on the trivial arguments between political parties. The political party rivalry also brings people away from the important task - their job. If the members of Congress are too concerned about what their opponent is going to do, it is likely that it will take a long time before any decision is made. 

I suggest that Congress tries to respect everyone because being negative toward others would certainly draw me away from wanting to vote for that candidate. This way, the members of Congress can go home after they serve their term and be happy with the work they accomplished during their term.]]> 2020-05-13 19:26:57 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571038203 zapik21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571239300 Yes. In my opinion, congress is broken. First of all, we have a majority of republicans in the senate, which is opposite of how people tend to vote in this country. The people are not well represented well in congress at all. I think that the most pressing issue in congress functions right now is that bills can be proposed and never talked about. The heads of committees hold all the power when deciding which bills and issues are going to be talked about. This means that a bill could be proposed that a majority of congress would agree on passing but it won't be talked about because the head of the committee won't achieve the results that they desire. This means that congress is unrepresentative and fundamentally flawed. Congress does not represent the will of the people which is it's main job. In this way, yes, I do believe that congress is broken.]]> 2020-05-13 21:12:41 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571239300 luasc21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571354740 Congress should be less of a traditional job, and viewed more of a position like the president. The founding fathers never expected for congresspeople to want to stay in the House or Senate for more than one year, and this makes it very hard for new people with revolutionary ideas to be able to become a congress member. There are many ways we could solve this issue, one of them could be that we reduce congress-people's pay of future representatives to literally anything lower than the current $174,000 / year salary. People who choose this position for the money are not good policymakers! There could also be limits to the amount of money that rich people or companies are allowed to contribute to a congress-person's campaign, so that they aren't easily able to fund campaigns for a huge amount of terms.]]> 2020-05-13 22:41:52 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571354740 corea21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571363410 One of the Problems I think Congress has is that Senators and Representatives don't live together in Washington like they use to. Everyone constantly travels back between their home state. The people in congress living together can create working friendships between themselves and their families and they can see each other as more then just opposing figures. This can also make them more cooperative. ]]> 2020-05-13 22:50:05 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571363410 alcou20 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571461740 one way that congress is dysfunction is that congressmen don't have a limit on terms. They also take away power from voters, a huge part of our government is being able to choose who our representatives are. our voting is restricted when congressmen  have unlimited time in office. This makes it hard to bring new people in and get people that we don't want in there out. A suggestion for this issue is that they should have a certain number of terms just like for a president to get old people put and bring new people in. 

]]> 2020-05-14 00:25:34 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/571461740 mishr211 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/572995399 I believe that one of Congress's main issues is the strong divide between the two parties. Even though the parties have two different viewpoints, it is important for the two to work together. This would allow things to be done more efficiently. Congress members should't see their job as a rivalry between another party, but instead try their best to represent their district as best as they can. A solution to this would be to have better relationships with their colleagues. People shouldn't have to live in D.C, but they should make efforts to get to know each other better. This would allow Congress members to view each other as more than just an opponent on the other side of an argument. I believe that it will help them work together in a more productive way. ]]> 2020-05-14 15:31:26 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/572995399 jamea21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573167741 I think that a big problem with congress is that there are no term limits. I think it is a problem because you keep bringing in the same people for years. A solution is having term limits it doesn't have to be every year but every couple of years they should bring new members in. With this solution young people will be brought in and just new people in general. This can allow new ideas to be spread as well which is a good thing. ]]> 2020-05-14 16:31:14 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573167741 mawar21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573432172 I think that congress is broken because both senators and representatives don't know each other cause they don't live together, as they did in the past. They are instead traveling back and fourth to see their families. Instead of always going to visit their families, they should just move their families to Washington- that way there is less need for traveling plus then they can get to know others more better too. It's hard to have a strong congress when no one knows each other very well, by not having to travel much, this creates more time for more mingling between members.]]> 2020-05-14 18:13:18 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573432172 kolku21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573592499 I think the biggest issue I learned about this week was gerrymandering. I don't think political parties should be able to decide a race before it is run. This process of choosing district boundaries in a way that benefits a certain party is unfair and unconstitutional. In every district in America, anyone who runs should have the chance of winning and every voter should matter. I think that an unbiased third party should set the district boundaries so that every race is competitive and fair. This will fill Congress with more people who want to make change in this country. ]]> 2020-05-14 19:25:11 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573592499 gacoo21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573807400 I think the lack of term limits in a big problem because we have no way of getting fresh people and ideas into congress. I think people will start to abuse power if they don't have to worry about being re-elected. Lack of term limits can also allow one party to gain control of congress and keep it forever. We should have term limits but not super short ones because we still want congress members to be focused on the future and not just the present. 


]]> 2020-05-14 21:23:53 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573807400 alphe21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573878967 One way I think congress is broken is that the senators and representatives do not have very good relationships. They don't know each other because they spend half of their time going home each week to see their families. Where as the senators and representatives use to move their families to Washington DC when they were elected. The senators and representatives use to live close together and their kids knew the other kids. This made them have have good relationships and actually know one another. For us to have a good congress senators and representatives should have to move their families to Washington DC in order to be apart of congress. To make sure everyone knows each other. ]]> 2020-05-14 22:23:26 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573878967 cedun21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573947985 I think that one big problem in congress we have today is that there are no term limits. This is a problem because it's the same people for years who bring the same thought process and ideas to the table. I think that we should enforce term limits, whether they are every other year or  every 4 years. I think this would be beneficial because it allows new people and staff to come in and bring new ideas to the table. Experience is important, but I think young ones with fresh brains should have the opportunity to be in congress as well.]]> 2020-05-14 23:31:58 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/573947985 mimcd21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/576028711 I think that one major problem in Congress today is the huge role that money plays in getting elected to Congressional roles. There was about 4 billion dollars spent in 2016 congressional elections. The amount of money that is being spent on these elections puts extreme peer pressure on all candidates to constantly raise more and more money. This constant money chase takes the focus off of the much important issues that Congress is supposed to be spending their time and energy on, like oversight and promoting legislation. ]]> 2020-05-15 21:03:09 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/576028711 livan21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577063235 The issue that creates the most dysfunction in congress is money. For example, congresspeople, especially the House Representatives, are constantly campaigning. This means that they are always raising money for their election and re-election. Therefore, the congress people spend less time lawmaking and more time fundraising. Secondly, congresspeople stay in congress for long periods of time because when they do they incur lots of power and money. This ensures that the congresspeople will focus on what will get them re-elected (more money and power) and not fresh new ideas because those ideas may scare away large accountable donors. ]]> 2020-05-16 19:57:23 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577063235 ramee21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577104990 I think that a big problem in Congress right now that I learned about was term limits. With the setup we have right now, it makes it very difficult to get new ideas and new ways of thinking into our government. Shorter and stricter term limits would help with that. Although it is very important to have experienced workers and lawmakers in our legislature, we need to open the door for new ideas in a world that is changing very rapidly. Our Congress should reflect our growing and changing society. ]]> 2020-05-16 20:50:33 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577104990 niday21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577219533 I think the biggest problem with congress is that the parties don't work with each other. Right now, the two sides fight which means that nothing gets done. Instead, they need to compromise and work together to come up with a plan. I also think that congress should try to be in Washington as much as possible. This will gives them more time to become friendly with each other. For example, Joe Biden and John McCain became work friends which helped them work together easier. I think the congressman should try to stay in Washington as long as possible, this would make the work together better than they do now. This would create a better functioning congress, ]]> 2020-05-17 00:41:14 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577219533 gabal21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577225221 I feel that the big problem aboout congress is that there is not term limits on the people on it. This makes it hard for new members to join it and represent the ideas of their state. I think the members of congress should change to represent the ideas of the current generation and not the old one. I also find it troublesome that once a party has the majority it will make it harder for the one to pass any bills.


]]> 2020-05-17 00:59:28 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/577225221 carko21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578281868 I think that term limits is the biggest issue because as of right now the government is set up in a way that limits the amount of new ideas that are able to circulate. I think that in order to look out for our future we need different and younger people who are able to represent the younger population. I think that having shorter term limits would help with this because we would constantly have different perspectives which could help bring new ideas. Even though it is important to have experienced workers it is also important to have many different people be able to share their opinion. ]]> 2020-05-17 18:56:11 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578281868 joasc21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578295132 I think the biggest issue is that party divisions are leading to no one listening or switching their votes to the other party because of party loyalty. This means that even if a bill is made that positively affect everyone if one Republican or Democrat does not support it majority of their party will not either because of their loyalty to their party]]> 2020-05-17 19:04:55 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578295132 juwei21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578413305 I think that one of the larger problems is term limits. With our current system, it makes it extremely difficult to get new ideas into Congress. New ideas can't be made because new people cannot get into Congress and represent their state and ideas. Although it is important to have some staff that are experienced and have been there for a while, it should be possible for new people to make it in and bring their own ideas and staff with them.]]> 2020-05-17 20:21:17 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578413305 sofri21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578543814 The issue that creates the most dysfunction for me is Term Limits. New ideas are being spread continuously throughout the world in the blink of an eye. I think Congress needs to keep up with the world around them by adding term limits , this allows new ideas to flow through the government. By adding term limits you can introduce new people  to the system. One solution could be every few years new members will be brought in. And by limiting their time in Congress it puts a little pressure on them to get what they came to do done and stay just long enough to make an impact. 

]]> 2020-05-17 22:05:21 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578543814 amdun21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578733854 The citizens of the united states are not well represented in congress. In my opinion, the largest problem in congress right now is that bills and ideas are brought forward and proposed and often  never even seen or mentioned .  The bills passed and laws are all meant to be bennificial to the people by either keeping us safe or making ie easier and because they dont recognize the bills and ideas that the people think we ned then how are they representing us.  It shos a complete disregard for the needs and wants of citizens when they ignore the bills proposed to help us and dont even gve them as much as a glance. This shows that congress is unrepresentative and needs to have a better system so that all bills or atleast more bills can be seen and recognized and given a fair cance whether passed or not.]]> 2020-05-18 01:25:12 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578733854 samot21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578743925 Campaign financing is a huge problem in Congress because you need a lot of money to successfully campaign. It is almost impossible for an average person to campaign at the national level. The amount of money that is needed means candidates may take donations for future "favors".]]> 2020-05-18 01:34:52 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578743925 alvan21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578849661 The problem with term limits is when people first get elected they are just trying to learn how to do whatever they are doing and then before they get anything done they are already campaigning for re-election. They are only focused on getting re-elected or elected to a higher power and the problems that were origionally there are still there because they didn't have enough time to deal with them. I think a longer (4-6 years) term limit would help this problem because it would give the person more time to focus on the issue and get things done before re-election. ]]> 2020-05-18 03:34:21 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578849661 jopol21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578861531  I bealive term limits serve a good purpose in our society. As Rep. Ron DeSantis said, Term limits opens up the process of forming "new blood". This restricts the number of terms of office an officeholder may hold. This gives new oppurtunity for a new officeholder to takeover and curbs the potential of monopoly (having too much power)]]> 2020-05-18 03:49:33 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578861531 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578901646 I fee one of the main issues in Congress surrounds the many misconceptions about lobbyist and their involvement in Congress. Lobbyists main role in Congress is providing information regarding their groups interests to try and influence government officials. One way to address this issue of worrying of lobbyist being unethical is for a party and/or Congress ban contributions from them and expand lobbyist disclosure.

]]> 2020-05-18 04:42:14 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/578901646 aylin21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/580876346 I think that one of the biggest problems in Congress is the lack of term limits. Without term limits there is no way to ensure that new members are voted into Congress every so often. Which means that with the same members in Congress for a longer period of time leading to group polarization making it harder to get things done in Congress. When decisions aren't able to be made in Congress it weakens our legislature and can reduce voter turnout. While I understand that there are benefits to having no term limits in Congress I think that there are some major disadvantages to it that should be considered also.]]> 2020-05-18 19:43:17 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/580876346 lowyc21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/581224197 I think one of the biggest issues with how congress functions is with their campaign financing. it takes a lot of money for someone to campaign nationally so people running for a seat in congress will often accept favors for people or companies that donate a large sum of money. Having money be one of the main reasons why someone can run or not goes against one of America's key beliefs that the people should have a say in what in their government. When members of congress then have to fulfill these favors they go against their responsibility of upholding the needs and wishes of the American people. To solve this, it's been suggested that the time period of campaigning should be shortened and that legislators should be more transparent with where their campaign money comes from, specifically with super packs.]]> 2020-05-18 23:39:51 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/581224197 elmur21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/582977298 I think that selectivly drawing political maps to favor one party over another is a big problem. It is undemocratic and gives many people no say at all in who gets elected. It has been done by both Democrats and Republicans. Recent court cases in North Carolina and other states suggest that partisan maps are unconstitutional and will not be allowed. The solution is for district maps to be drawn by a non-political body that will not favor one side over another. ]]> 2020-05-19 16:39:31 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/582977298 addal20 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/583601978 One of the main issues in Congress right now is the large divide between the two parties. Even though the parties have differing views, they should be working towards the common goal of bettering America, rather than just working to undermine each other. A way to fix this would be for politicians to have more personal relationships with their opponents, so they are humanized rather than just being talking heads on the opposing side.  This would allow them to work together in a more civilized manner while simultaneously bringing the american people together with the decrease in party divides.]]> 2020-05-19 22:02:39 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/583601978 dulon21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/589785133 2020-05-22 21:44:28 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/589785133 kymcd21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/598310048 yes congress is broken. Nobody gets anything done, they're just worried about fundraising for their re-election. But there's something that should be used WITH term limits- publicly funded elections, which seem like a great idea. This gives candidates an equal amount of money from the federal government for presidential/federal elections and state government for elections at that level. This means no more fundraising, so the lawmakers can worry about making laws. you know, their job.]]> 2020-05-28 04:36:15 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/598310048 jokib21 https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/600778856 I believe that congress is broken because of the fact that are congressmen and women are always trying to figure out how to bring in more money instead of focusing on what the people have to say about certain issues. This is really corrupt because that shows everyone that is in the lower bracket financially that their opinions do not matter because they have nothing to offer to congress. Which just bring to my attention that instead of focusing on the minorities they would rather focus on the 1% because that is where their funding is coming from and they wouldn't want to lose that .]]> 2020-05-29 09:04:52 UTC https://padlet.com/watson_carrie/y9knjh97y3f5onwx/wish/600778856