{"id":2620305,"date":"2026-06-28T06:38:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T10:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-is-struggling-to-get-its-work-done\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T06:41:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T10:41:37","slug":"congress-is-struggling-to-get-its-work-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-is-struggling-to-get-its-work-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress is struggling to get its work done"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcongress-is-struggling-to-get-its-work-done%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2620305&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Recent reports reveal that Congress has struggled to fulfill its legislative responsibilities, hindered by partisan gridlock, insufficient staffing, outdated committee structures, and underrepresentation of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >working-class citizens<\/a>. Key issues include disagreements over federal spending,the reauthorization of surveillance laws,and the looming insolvency of Social Security. Public approval of Congress remains vrey low at around 12%, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/orange-is-the-new-red-almost-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Orange is the new red (almost) - Washington Examiner\">reflecting voter discontent<\/a> and frequent shifts in party control. Experts suggest reforms such as expanding the House, addressing congressional aging, increasing staff resources, modernizing committee systems, and improving representation to better serve 21st-century Americans. Despite historical calls for restructuring, important reforms appear necessary to restore effective governance and public trust.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-football-analogy-to-explain-democrats-election-cheating\/\" title=\"A Football Analogy to Explain Democrats&#039; Election Cheating\">news coming<\/a> from Capitol Hill over the past couple of weeks has left much to be desired. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a> has had difficulty discharging its lawmaking duties.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4627106\/mike-johnson-trump-allies-target-democrats-win-november\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Mike Johnson warns Trump allies will be \u2018targeted\u2019 if Democrats win in November<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4626340\/thomas-massie-gop-wasting-control-congress-white-house-save-america-act\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Thomas Massie complains GOP is \u2018wasting\u2019 control of Congress and White House with focus on SAVE America Act<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4625293\/lawler-trump-tps-haiti\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Lawler pushes Trump administration to resume TPS for Haitians after court ruling<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\">Senate\u2019s<\/a> appropriations committee is at loggerheads over how much spending to authorize. The impasse is hindering Congress\u2019s ability to pass the dozen spending bills and avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1. Additionally, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cia\/\">CIA <\/a>and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-snooped-on-americans-data-at-record-pace-last-year\/\" title=\"FBI Snooped On Americans\u2019 Data At Record Pace Last Year\">national security authorities<\/a> have lost the power to conduct warrantless searches of foreign persons. Legislators could not agree to reauthorize Section 702 of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fisa\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"921\">Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The House of Representatives, for its part, was out of session the week of June 15 and only conducted work on three days the previous week. The time off further reduces the odds that Congress will finalize a lengthy list of legislation before legislators flee Washington, D.C., to campaign for reelection. These <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-state-senate-votes-35-18-to-mandate-voter-id-for-mail-in-ballots\/\" title=\"Ga. State Senate votes 35-18 to mandate voter ID for mail-in ballots\">bills include<\/a> ones that would set clear standards for the taxation of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cryptocurrency\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cryptocurrency\/\">cryptocurrency<\/a>, extend the existing highway and transit programs, and a revised farm bill, which was last updated in 2018.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that is to say nothing of the looming insolvency of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/social-security\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"796\">Social Security<\/a>. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) recently <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/5922483-johnson-social-security-republicans\/\">lamented<\/a> the sorry state of the program\u2019s finances. Some of his GOP colleagues seconded his sentiments and bemoaned the absence of congressional action. Retirees will see their benefits cut in 2032, and the longer Congress takes to act, the tougher it will be to right the program\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\">(Examiner illustration; Getty Images; AP Photos)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/06\/localimages\/WB.Congress.070126.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;658&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Examiner illustration; Getty Images; AP Photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Certainly, voters give no signs that they are impressed. Public approval of Congress slid to 12% from 18% since January, according to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/1600\/congress-public.aspx\">Gallup<\/a>. Voters\u2019 sour feelings toward our national legislature are not a recent phenomenon. Public approval of Congress has not been more than 40% since <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/1600\/congress-public.aspx\">December 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voters have expressed their discontent by throwing the bums out. Both the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/house\/\" type=\"category\" id=\"1250\">House<\/a> and Senate have seen party control switch <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/United_States_Congress_elections,_2024\">four times since 2004<\/a>. They might assign Republicans to minority status this autumn, but there is little reason to expect the quality of congressional governance to improve.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress is mired in underperformance because it is \u201coverburdened, under-resourced, and gridlocked,\u201d according to a recent report from the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/media\/15711\/download\/2026_06_solutions_series_congress.pdf?inline=1\">Brennan Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress, particularly the House of Representatives, lacks sufficient staff to do all the work. \u201cSince 1975, each House member has been limited to 18 permanent staff members, even as the United States has grown by more than 100,000 million people,\u201d note report authors Maya Kornberg and Emily Whitehead. Many, if not most, of these staff members are kept busy responding to requests from voters, leaving few staff to help a legislator make policy and oversee the executive branch.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress\u2019s committee systems are also antiquated. The economy and world have changed, yet the old division of labor in the chambers has changed little since the 1970s. Issues, such as national technology policy, cannot be clearly assigned to one committee or another. This can lead to important matters not being addressed or having too many legislative cooks in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Populists may find the report\u2019s concerns with representation of particular interest. One problem is that \u201cworking-class people have long been underrepresented in Congress.\u201d One reason Congress skews rich, Kornberg and Whitehead suggest, is that legislators\u2019 pay ($174,000) is too low to enable regular individuals to serve. Anyone elected to Congress must pay double housing costs for lodging in pricy Washington, D.C., and one for maintaining their domiciles in their home states. The average one-bedroom apartment in the district runs $2,776 per month (not including utilities) according to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apartments.com\/washington-dc\/1-bedrooms\/\">Apartments.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress may be increasingly out of touch with the average voter because the ratio of legislators to voters has become severely distorted. The House of Representatives has had 435 members since 1913. Back then, there were 97.2 million Americans, and each legislator represented about 223,500 of them. Today, there are 341 million Americans, and the average member of the House represents 750,000 constituents. The report advises increasing the House to 600 members.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kornberg and Whitehead also point out that Congress\u2019s functioning is not helped by the advanced age of many of its members. A not insignificant number of legislators have died or been hospitalized with age-related afflictions. They suggest Congress limit the maximum age of senators and representatives, which would require a constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two hundred and fifty years ago, 56 members of the Continental Congress were aggrieved by the state of the government. It was supposed to serve the people and advance their happiness. It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/equality-not-elitism\/4614973\/collins-has-flaws-platner-has-a-totenkopf\/\">RESTORING AMERICA: COLLINS HAS FLAWS. PLATNER HAS A TOTENKOPF<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, they put quill to paper. \u201cWhenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,\u201d their <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/founding-docs\/declaration-transcript\">Declaration of Independence<\/a> boldly announced. It took more than a decade, but they birthed a new government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today\u2019s legislators surveying the sorry state of the first branch of government do not need to take nearly as momentous action. They should, however, take inspiration from their political forebears and summon the courage to reform Congress to meet the needs of 21st-century Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Kevin R. Kosar (<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kevinrkosar\"><em>@kevinrkosar<\/em><\/a><em>) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and edits<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/understandingcongress.org\/\"><em>UnderstandingCongress.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congress struggles to pass laws amid gridlock and low approval<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3532,"featured_media":2620306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WB.Congress.070126.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4402,81850,57847,49528,33017],"class_list":["post-2620305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-congress","tag-government-politics","tag-legislative-gridlock","tag-legislative-process","tag-political-analysis"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WB.Congress.070126.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3532"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2620305"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2620309,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620305\/revisions\/2620309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2620306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2620305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2620305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2620305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}