Congressional Term Limits

[Belsnickel]

On the whole staff conversation, here is something that may be interesting to you all. Staff for MCs in Washington has decreased drastically over the last 40 years. A much higher percentage of their staff are in their district/state offices now compared to in the 70s. Some will say, yes, that's good. They will be more in touch with their people. What is happening, though, is that they aren't relying on staff to fill them in on legislation or to research things. They are relying on lobbyists. So much of the work done by MCs is being outsourced rather than being kept in their offices for their staff to handle. This is a trend that has been going on for decades, now.

The fun part about this is that lobbyists are made up of about 50% former bureaucrats. 50% of lobbyists either worked on congressional staff, worked at a level in an executive agency where they made policy decisions, or they were MCs themselves. Then, these lobbyists come in and do the research, write the legislation/policies, and get their pals in the government to make it happen. What gets an issue resolved through the legislative process? Not money, that doesn't give an edge. No, it's the side with more lobbyists that have gone through the revolving door.

Sorry for the mini rant, there.

[Benton]

(11-12-2016, 07:55 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote:  

And those career staffers are unelected - something we all should have a big problem with given how much power they wield.  But that is a direct and unavoidable result of a bigger and bigger federal govt.

Agreed and agreed.