[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 177 (Friday, October 16, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTRODUCTION OF THE CONGRESS COMMISSION ACT

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 16, 2020

  Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the importance 
of establishing a Congressional Commission to Strengthen Representative 
Democracy. My legislation, the Congress Commission Act, would establish 
such a commission to analyze the current size of the House of 
Representatives, examine alternatives to the current method by which 
Members are elected, and study the harmful effects gerrymandering 
continues to have on our democracy.
  Today, a Member of Congress represents an average of over 740,000 
constituents, well over 10 times the number of constituents envisioned 
by the First Congress. The United States presents itself as the world's 
leading representative democracy. And yet, the House's weighty 
representative ratio makes the United States an outlier among the 35 
nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 
most of them highly developed, democratic states.
  It has been nearly 110 years since the House of Representatives has 
increased its ranks even though the United States' population has more 
than tripled in size. It is time we examine how this institution is 
constructed, so we can make the necessary changes for a more equitable 
tomorrow. It is not only within the power of Congress to improve 
itself, but it has a responsibility to do so. Such an effort as 
embodied in my proposed Congressional Commission to Strengthen 
Representative Democracy will result in a Congress that better reflects 
the constituencies, states, and nation we serve.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critically 
important legislation, so that we can better serve the American people.

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