Less than one in four Americans have a favorable opinion of Congress. Many legislators and congressional staff feel frustrated that they cannot get things done. Yet, our Constitution deems Congress the first branch, and the source of all legislative power. How can we reform Congress so that it can better serve the public?

To answer that question, esteemed scholars of Congress were assembled to study what’s going right in Congress, what’s going wrong, and how our national legislature might be improved. Inspired by the creation and action of the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (SCOMC), their analyses and recommendations were recently released in the Report of the Task Force Project on Congressional Reform, convened by the American Political Science Association. Many of the recommendations within the report relate to - and in some cases mirror - the recommendations and topics of discussion the SCOMC discussed and those that have been included in H. Res. 756. Some of the experts who contributed to this report will come to discuss their findings and recommendations at this event.

Panelists:

Kevin Kosar, R Street Institute, Vice President, Research Partnerships

Casey Burgat, R Street Institute, Resident Senior Fellow, Governance Project

Dr. Claire Abernathy, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Stockton University

Dr. Menna Demessie, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Vice President of Policy Analysis and Research

Dr. Frances Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Princeton University