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UGA's School Of Public And International Affairs' Getzen Lecturer Urges Congress To Assert Its Power

by Danielle Schramm
04/10/2008

Congress is an institution under stress, and it is not living up to its role as a co-equal branch of government, according to a former congressman who spoke at the University of Georgia on Wednesday.

In the second annual Getzen Lecture hosted by UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs, former congressman Lee Hamilton criticized the Congress’ role, saying that it does not exercise enough oversight and has yielded too much power to the President.

According to Hamilton, who co-chaired the 9/11 Commission and was vice-chair of the Iraq Study Group, Congress has forgotten its power of the purse, as members recently rubberstamped 95 percent of the President’s budget, only pausing briefly to argue over minute details.

Hamilton also criticized Congress’ role in declaring war, noting there has not been a formal declaration of war since World War II. While Congress may pass resolutions regarding our frequent military encounters, it is clear, Hamilton said, that Congress has little to say regarding our foreign policy agenda.

Aside from budgetary and foreign policy concerns, Congress’ role as a watchdog over governmental programs has been severely lacking as well, Hamilton argued.

While many Americans are quick to blame the President for the lack of good intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq, Hamilton argued that Congress had the same information available to them. Moreover, with the appalling abuse scandals stemming from Guantanamo Bay’s prison facility, Congress is just as responsible, Hamilton said.

“I am appalled by it,” he said. “It is not the United States of America I know.”

Hamilton offered reasons for the anemic institution’s recent flaws, citing that the congressional work week has shrunk; now senators and congressmen work Tuesday afternoon until Thursday night.

Hamilton also said the emphasis on committee responsibilities has declined, and members have become apathetic regarding the institutions they oversee.

Congress has become more concerned with the glamorous rather than the tedious, Hamilton maintained, citing the recent hearings with Roger Clemens regarding his drug use.

With so much bad news, Hamilton did offer a prescription for change.

“Congress must reclaim its constitutional power. It must exercise its political will and take a seat at the table,” he said. “Congress cannot be reactive to policy decisions made by the President and other members of the government; it must establish its own agenda.”

The most important factor in Congress’ success, Hamilton concluded, is the American people.

“Accountability rests with the people, the most powerful agent of change,” Hamilton said. “Government will not work unless we make it work.”

Hamilton is currently the president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and director of The Center on Congress at Indiana University.