[EL] "Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy"

[Sean Parnell]

I was curious about this among the 'electoral system reform'
recommendations:

 


Members of Congress focus too much time on fundraising at the expense of
governing.

Congress should pass legislation requiring detailed disclosure of spending
by congressional leadership PACs and mandate that leadership PAC funds be
used solely for political activities (such as donations to other candidates)
and not for personal use. Leadership PACs should be limited to the top three
congressional leaders of each party in both the House of Representatives and
the Senate.

 

Is this a typo? Whatever the reality of the problem and the stand-alone
merits of the solution, these don't really appear to be linked to me.

 

Sean Parnell

President

Impact Policy Management, LLC

6411 Caleb Court

Alexandria, VA  22315

571-289-1374 (c)

sean at impactpolicymanagement.com

 


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=62710> "Governing in a Polarized America: A
Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy" 


Posted on June 24, 2014 9:51 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=62710>  by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>  

Release <http://bipartisanpolicy.org/strengthen-american-democracy> :

The Bipartisan Policy Center launched the Commission on Political Reform in
2013 to investigate the causes and consequences of America's partisan
political divide and to advocate for specific reforms that will improve the
political process and that will work in a polarized atmosphere.

The commission met at public and private institutions across the country to
hear from interested citizens, political leaders, and issue experts about
the problems and potential solutions. It is clear that Americans are
concerned about the lack of civil discourse and the increasing inability of
the U.S. political system to grapple with the nation's biggest challenges.
These shortcomings put the nation at risk of losing its standing in the
world.

This report, Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to
Strengthen our Democracy, is the culmination of the commission's public and
private deliberations, but it is not the end of its work. Our
recommendations provide a realistic path forward to strengthen U.S.
democracy. The commission does not pretend to have discovered the cure to
all that ails democracy. But, 29 Americans have come together as part of our
commission to embrace a truly bipartisan reform agenda.

The commission identifies reforms in three specific areas: the electoral
process, the process by which Congress legislates and manages its own
affairs, and the ability of Americans to plug into the nation's civic life
through public service. We chose to focus on three broad areas of reform,
because the polarization in the United States runs deeply through its
institutions, affects the ways Americans elect political leaders and how the
institutions of government operate, and even puts in danger Americans'
deep-seated desire to serve their nation.

Electoral System Reform
View report section
<http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20CPR%20Report.pdf#page
=31>  l
<http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20CPR%20Report.pdf#page
=13> View recommendations

The commission is deeply concerned about the distrust that permeates the
entire electoral process and that reverberates through both federal and
state legislatures. Americans must be able to trust that their electoral
system is fair. States will need to take the lead in reformulating an
electoral system that earns back the people's trust.



Problem


Our Solution


Legislative districts are drawn in an overly partisan manner.

States should adopt redistricting commissions that have the bipartisan
support of the legislature and the electorate.


Voter turnout in congressional primaries is too low and the electorate is
confused about when states' primary elections occur.

States and political parties should strive to dramatically increase the
number of voters who cast ballots in political primaries to 30 percent of
eligible voters by 2020 and 35 percent by 2026. 

States should create a single congressional primary date in June.


Inaccurate voter-registration lists.

Improve access: identify eligible unregistered voters and contact them with
an opportunity to register to vote. 

Ensure integrity: states should encourage direct opportunities for voters to
input their own registration information and to update their addresses and
conduct crosschecks with other states' lists and with other databases to
eliminate ineligible registrations or to correct mistakes on registration
rolls.


Americans don't know who are financing elections.

Disclose all political contributions, including those made to outside and
independent groups.


Members of Congress focus too much time on fundraising at the expense of
governing.

Congress should pass legislation requiring detailed disclosure of spending
by congressional leadership PACs and mandate that leadership PAC funds be
used solely for political activities (such as donations to other candidates)
and not for personal use. Leadership PACs should be limited to the top three
congressional leaders of each party in both the House of Representatives and
the Senate.

 

 

Congressional Reform
View report section
<http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20CPR%20Report.pdf#page
=53>  l
<http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20CPR%20Report.pdf#page
=14> View recommendations

The commission, consisting of 29 thought leaders, puts forth recommendations
that foster a modern, strong, and vibrant political system that accepts the
strongly held differences of opinion among citizens and channels these
differences in productive ways. Congress has shown that it can still come
together on a bipartisan basis to move substantive legislation.

This is not an effort to return Congress to the "good old days."
Commissioners recognize that hyperpolarization pervades not just Congress
but the electorate as well. However, the commission believes that Congress
can function more efficiently despite that polarization. The commission's
recommendations are incremental, politically viable, and, most importantly,
achievable if citizens and our leaders are ready to confront the structural
and system-wide weaknesses in a fair and bipartisan way.



Problem


Our Solution


There is not enough time spent legislating.

The House of Representatives and the Senate should schedule synchronized,
five-day workweeks in Washington, with three weeks in session followed by
one-week recesses.


Interparty and inter-branch communication has been nonexistent.

The president should hold regular, monthly meetings with congressional
leaders; similarly, congressional leadership should invite the president to
attend joint caucuses twice a year.


Power in Congress is too centralized, which marginalizes individual members
willing to formulate compromises.

Committee chairs should solicit the views of all committee members-
especially those in the minority-well in advance of a committee markup. To
reconcile differences, full-fledged conference committees between the
chambers on important legislation are essential to ensuring greater member
participation in the policy process.


Threats in the Senate to change the filibuster rules to eviscerate minority
rights further raise the temperature in an already polarized body.

The Senate should only make changes to its rules at the start of a new
Congress. These rules changes will only take effect when two-thirds of the
Senate agrees to them.


The Senate minority is shut out of the legislating process to the detriment
of good policymaking.

The Senate should establish a process that gives priority consideration to a
minimum of ten amendments offered by and alternating between senators of
both parties


The Senate is gridlocked by a normalization of the use of threatened or real
filibusters.

The Senate should eliminate filibusters on motions to proceed by limiting
debate to two hours.


Congress has failed to complete the appropriations process on time for more
than a decade.

Congress should adopt a biennial budget process that includes two-year
budget resolutions and appropriations bills, with expedited consideration
given to enacting into law two-year discretionary spending ceilings for
enforcement purposes.

 

Public Service
View report section
<http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20CPR%20Report.pdf#page
=73>  l
<http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20CPR%20Report.pdf#page
=16> View recommendations

Successful democracies require an educated citizenry who actively
participates in civic life. Americans must re-engage in ways that reinforce
the notion that, as Americans, we are all part of a common enterprise that
requires a lifetime of civic engagement.



Problem


Our Solution


Fewer and fewer Americans aspire to careers in public service.

All Americans ages 18 to 28 should commit to one full year of service within
their communities or at a national level through military service, civilian
service, volunteer service, or by running for office.


Younger Americans are less likely than those in previous generations to
pursue careers in community, national, and public service.

Schools should refocus on their original civic missions to provide the core
values, knowledge, and ideas from U.S. history in civic learning that will
equip the next generation of active, engaged citizens. Colleges and
universities should reaffirm their missions to develop engaged and active
citizens and encourage service in formal and informal programs.


Federal service opportunities, like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, turn
away thousands of volunteers each year for lack of available positions.

The federal government must leverage additional resources to increase the
supply of available positions in AmeriCorps, VISTA, and the Peace Corps. 

The public and private sectors should create a nationally recognized
"qualified-service" opportunity program to match the supply of existing
yearlong service opportunities to the demand of applicants.


The appointments process discourages many of the most qualified individuals.

Presidential administrations should open political appointments to the
widest possible pool of applicants by streamlining the process and not
imposing overly burdensome pre- and post-employment restrictions.

 

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