Top Nine Reasons Congress is Broken

"Congress, hovering at barely 10 percent approval in national polls, is empirically gridlocked: More than halfway through its term, the 112th Congress has approved just 106 bills, versus 906 in the actual "Do Nothing Congress" of 1947-48 – and is filled with such rancor that moderates such as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) of Maine are fleeing the place.

Nearly three dozen D.C. insiders recently gathered at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to discuss why. These include the former Senate parliamentarian, former members of Congress, and longtime Hill staffers. From that conversation comes this list of the nine toughest problems facing Congress today." - David Grant, The Christian Science Monitor

1. Insufficient presidential leadership
2. Republicans at fault, especially those newcomers
3. Too few with institutional knowledge
4. More fundraising, more problems
5. Hyperactive news media
6. The filibuster
7. You get the Congress you vote for
8. Interest groups rule, political parties drool
9. Congress is back to the future

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