[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E234-E235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE PUBLIC'S TRUST

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 28, 1996

  Mr. HAMILTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my 
Washington Report for Wednesday, February 21, 1996, into the 
Congressional Record.

                  Improving Public Trust in Government

       It is no longer news that Americans have lost confidence in 
     the federal government. Anger at the government and disgust 
     with elected officials have increased, causing voters to jump 
     in different directions. Americans believe government fails 
     to deal adequately with crime, economic insecurity, and other 
     of the country's biggest problems. They have concluded that 
     government either makes things worse or in incapable of 
     making them better.
       It has always been true that people in this country have 
     been skeptical of power and have cherished the right to beat 
     up on their leaders, and in many respects that attitude is 
     healthy. The Constitution of the United States is based on 
     assumptions of wariness of government and each other. That's 
     what checks and balances are all about.
       But most elected officials, including me, believe today 
     that public cynicism is severe, intense and stronger than it 
     once was. Restoring confidence in government actions is a 
     daunting task.


                                 Causes

       Most agree that the distrust of government and elected 
     officials reflects a broader loss of reliance on each other, 
     a civic breakdown in which divorce, crime, and economic 
     anxiety all play important roles. Many Americans are 
     frustrated by an increasingly impersonal economy. Their 
     anxieties are fostered by a changing economy and the highly 
     partisan nature of current politics. People wonder whether 
     there's anything they can depend on. More fundamentally, the 
     experts think that the mistrust of government is part of a 
     larger problem. Americans just don't trust one another as 
     much as they used to.
       The media bear some responsibility for the mistrust of 
     government as well. They tend to emphasize and encourage 
     conflict and to downplay consensus. They encourage people to 
     think things are worse than they are. You cannot be very 
     upbeat after watching the evening news. It certainly 
     exaggerates the violent and the sensational, and reduces 
     complexity to a 15 second sound bite. The impact of 
     television often is to isolate people; prevent sustained 
     engagement with other people; and, because of its emphasis on 
     violence and the dark side of human nature, increase 
     pessimism about our fellow human beings.
       Elected officials, of course, share much of the blame. It 
     has become easier to lead people by dividing them than by 
     finding areas of agreement. Running against the government in 
     order to serve in it has been the standard practice in 
     American politics for a long time. Elected officials take 
     great delight in attacking the very institutions they serve 
     in and are responsible for. They also create high 
     expectations by promising quick-fix solutions but rarely 
     delivering on them.


                               solutions

       So how do we deal with these problems of distrust? It's 
     very clear that political rhetoric will not help much. The 
     credibility of all elected officials is simply too low.
       It is important that elected officials try to connect with 
     people through town meetings and face-to-face contact. In the 
     end there's really no substitute for an elected official to 
     spend time with his or her constituents. People want their 
     representatives to listen and be accountable. They have to 
     see some connection between themselves and the government. 
     But there are limits to public meetings. After all, elected 
     officials have been holding them for years without putting 
     the brakes on public distrust of government.
       Elected officials have to learn to promise less and produce 
     more. They can help by not 

[[Page E235]]
     promising anything they cannot deliver. They have to make people 
     comfortable with government, and that means producing what 
     the citizens want. In more specific terms it means ongoing 
     efforts to balance the budget and reform education, welfare, 
     and other areas of public dissatisfaction. But there are 
     limitations even to government reform. Reforms always fall 
     short of their goals and the standard political reform 
     agenda, while it may be worthwhile, does not solve all the 
     problems.
       Elected officials also have to do a better job of giving 
     people basic facts. One recent poll showed that most 
     Americans can't name their member of Congress or the Vice 
     President, or believe, incorrectly, that more federal money 
     is spent on foreign aid than on Medicare. In a time when 
     there is an explosion of information, data and statistics, 
     it's important to try to identify those facts which are more 
     important than others. Each of us has to take seriously our 
     responsibilities to make ourselves well-informed citizens.
       I also happen to think that elected officials need to pay 
     less attention to public opinion polls which now dominate 
     American politics. The idea that elected officials listen to 
     the pros and cons and then make judgments and go back and 
     explain them is still a pretty good basic approach to 
     government. Restoring civility in political debate can help 
     too. No matter how much elected officials disagree with one 
     another at the end of the day they have to sit down with each 
     other and try to reach an agreement.
       There also has to be a lot more emphasis on the many good 
     things that are happening in our families, communities, and 
     states. People everywhere every day act in such ways to 
     restore trust, but it often gets little attention. This is 
     not a time for handwringing, but a time to point out the good 
     things, and build upon our successes.


                               conclusion

       It's important to remember in the end that we as a nation 
     cannot thrive or survive without public faith in our 
     institutions, our economic destiny, and our own values.
       Three decades ago a majority of Americans believed that 
     most people could be trusted. Today two out of three believe 
     the opposite. We have to ask ourselves what happened to a 
     nation of endless optimism, opportunity, and good 
     heartedness. Many things have set us back: job layoffs and 
     economic insecurity, crime and drugs, government scandals and 
     policy failures. This will not be quickly turned around, but 
     we must make the effort.
       The other day I ran into a constituent who said to me he 
     did not know the names of any of his elected officials. He 
     could not name the Vice President or identify the majority 
     party in Congress. He said to me, ``I don't care. I just 
     don't have time for it.'' I strongly suspect that gentleman 
     does not have the right solution to our problems.

                          ____________________