Lawmakers advise new Congress

Outgoing members say Capitol Hill needs to change its ways.

By Ambreen Ali

The rules are about to change in Washington.

With Republicans set to take over the House and make gains in the Senate, both parties will have to change strategies—and work together—to get legislation passed.

Experienced lawmakers say Congress needs to make big changes in order for that to happen.

"When it's difficult to get Congress to lower taxes and increase spending," Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) said, referring to the recent tax deal, "the real question is how hard will it be to get bipartisanship to raise taxes and lower spending."

Edwards and several other lawmakers who lost in the midterm elections offered their advice for breaking partisan gridlock during a panel at the Bipartisan Policy Center this week.

They suggested Congress needs:

STRONGER LEADERS. Party leaders could work harder to agree not just on policy but the rules by which Congress operates, Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) said, adding that he sees a glimmer of hope in the recent tax compromise between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans.

"Abuse by both the majority and the minority could go out the window if the two leaders decided they were going to change the precedent," he said.

MINORITY POWER. The minority party becomes disruptive to the legislative process when its members feel left out of the process, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) argued. He advised that the majority in both chambers include the other party in policy debates.

"When the system doesn't function by rules that gives any voice to the minority, people get angry," he said.

LESS OUTSIDE INTEREST. Fueled by a recent Supreme Court decision, private groups spent record amounts in this year's midterm election, and lawmakers said that money will likely spill into the legislative cycle.

"A member is going to have to be fearful when he or she takes on one company or one union," Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) said. "That's going to change not only elections but the thought process of members of Congress in terms of whether they take on special interest."

PRESSURE FROM VOTERS. "The devil of bipartisanship is a completely safe seat," Pomeroy said on the panel, noting that incumbents from firmly blue or red districts are less likely to want to compromise with the other party.

His comments suggested that voters could prod those lawmakers to work with others simply by turning on the electoral heat.

INDEPENDENT THINKING. Bennett admitted that he sometimes voted one way on a bill just to please his party's leaders. When lawmakers broke with the party, they risked being shut out of committee leadership posts.

"Votes have consequences and you find if you deviate from your party," Pomeroy said, adding that his vote on a prescription drug bill sent him "into the penalty box it felt like two years."

Castle agreed from the other side of the political aisle.

"There's a huge thrust by the political parties to stay in line," he said. "They discourage sitting down [with others] and agreeing."

SENSE OF URGENCY. The financial crisis set aside party differences like nothing else in recent years, the panelists said. At that moment, lawmakers worried less about their reelection than what they believed the country needed.

"That was congress' finest moment," Bennett said of the resulting bank bailout. "In that room when we cracked that deal, there was no hint of partisanship."

But moments like that appear to be far and few in between.

Despite persistent joblessness, growing debt, and a strained military, Castle was skeptical that the new Congress would work together.

"Conservatives don't want to give too many victories to this president," he said, noting that the 2012 presidential race is not far off.

Ambreen Ali writes for Congress.org.