Make them live in the districts they represent. They can meet in DC once a year.
Rep. Steve Pearce, after more than a decade in the House, thinks he knows why people are so unhappy with Congress. Once elected, lawmakers become creatures of Washington and lose touch with the people who sent them there.
To fix it, the New Mexico Republican has proposed a resolution that would let lawmakers work the way millions of others do: remotely.
His resolution, H.Res. 298, encourages the House Administration Committee to explore ways to let members work in a “virtual setting.” That would include letting members debate, vote, and even attend hearings while they’re home.
“The biggest complaint that exists about Washington is that they seem to be out of touch with the voters,” Pearce told the Washington Examiner. “And so, the ultimate impact would be to put us extremely back in touch with our voters.”
Pearce believes this move would bring dramatic changes to Congress. To Pearce, working remotely isn’t about letting lawmakers skip their morning shower and letting them lounge around the basement all day.
“I wouldn’t visualize us sitting at home,” he said.
Instead, he imagines moving around his huge district in New Mexico, and letting voters watch live as he debates and votes in committee or on the floor. Pearce wants to set up huge screens in local auditoriums to let people watch what Congress is doing up close, while their representative is in the room with them.
He thinks the pressure of having real people watch the process live would give members a new perspective.