[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4883]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ESSAY BY SAKU GOPINATH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 20, 2016

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight from across the political spectrum that 
sheds a light on the concerns of our younger constituents. Giving voice 
to their priorities will hopefully instill a better sense of the 
importance of being an active participant in the political process. 
Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics 
and I am pleased to share them with my House colleagues.
  Saku Gopinath attends Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. In your 
opinion, what makes the political process in Congress so challenging?

       Anyone can see that Congress as it operates today is 
     largely ineffective, failing to represent its constituents, 
     and the numbers support this opinion. As a Gallup poll 
     stated, the approval rating for Congress was at an all time 
     low during the 2013-2014 period at 14.5%, indicating the lack 
     of faith the American people have developed in it. In my 
     opinion, it is the attitude towards politics that makes the 
     political process in Congress so challenging--an attitude 
     that sacrifices democratic values to pursue victory above all 
     else.
       The political process of Congress is essentially the rules, 
     procedures, and practices by which the majority organizes the 
     institution to achieve its goals of policymaking and resource 
     allocation; this process creates a power struggle, five 
     different struggles to be exact, but each is necessary for 
     Congress to function per its design. Of the struggles between 
     the President and Congress, the House and the Senate, the 
     political parties, the elected majority party leaders and 
     majority party committee chairmen, and the individual members 
     to get the most for their districts and states from the 
     Federal government and thereby ensure their reelection, I 
     will focus on that between the political parties. A clash of 
     contrasting ideals is an old story in America, its origins 
     dating back all the way to America's creation with the 
     opposition between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists 
     with differing ideas of the scope and purpose of the new 
     government. At that time, however, the parties chose to 
     compromise, and incorporated principles from each belief to 
     create stronger policies. The fact is that the rivalry 
     between these two broad philosophies often proved highly 
     productive, and this cooperation was able to take place 
     because they shared a commitment to democracy.
       The competition between opposing views has begun to 
     degenerate into something toxic, however, creating an 
     environment in which politics is treated as war, and 
     compromise is seen as a weakness. While it is unclear what 
     the exact cause of this problem is, its symptom is clear: 
     ineffectiveness. Evidence of this is provided by the 234 
     bills passed by the 113th Congress, the lowest recorded total 
     in congressional history. It is obvious that the fervor to 
     win too often trumps everything else--including respect for 
     opponents, the integrity of institutions, and even the health 
     of the democracy itself. A clear example of the detrimental 
     effect this attitude is having on the political process of 
     Congress is the 16 days the government was shut down in 
     October of 2013 due to Congress's inability to compromise. 
     The time has come to remedy this problem, and for politicians 
     to adopt a new attitude--or rather, return to an old state of 
     mind.
       The only way to simplify the political process of Congress 
     is to create a renewed sense of commitment to democracy--
     above party interests and ideology, or economic interests. It 
     is only in the context of such a shared commitment that 
     differences in opinions and beliefs can be fruitful and 
     benefit the American people.

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