FIRST IN HUDDLE: IN-DEPTH HILL STAFF SURVEY — Congress is broken, but not beyond repair. That seems to be a major takeaway from a survey of a key cohort of Congressional staff about the "State of the Congress ," conducted by The Congressional Management Foundation and the Partnership for Public Service. Basic (mal)functioning: Only 24 percent of staff surveyed agreed that "Congress currently functions as a democratic legislature should," and 81 percent said staff and member understanding of Congress' role in Democracy is "very important," but only 4 percent are "very satisfied" with the current state of things on the Hill.
- "A majority of Congressional leadership, Members and staff don't seem to have the institutional knowledge of best practices to know how Congress can better function, which seems to be leading to a vicious cycle of continual breakdown of the institution." — Professional Staff on a House committee
- "In recent years it seems leadership has consolidated a lot of power and weakened the committees. As a result, very little legislation is passed via regular order, and members and staff are frustrated by the lack of input, particularly on big bills." — A manager in a House support office
Prized priorities: Constituent services is what the majority of respondents said they see as members' primary role, with 47 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans ranking it as the most important function. But there is a party divide on what is the second most important role: 22 percent of Democrats said lawmaking and 24 percent of Republicans said supporting political party policy. Financial oversight came in third place for both Republicans and Democrats. MODCOM, THEY'RE PLAYING YOUR SONG — Staff were asked about areas of opportunity for improvement and reforms already recommended by the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress and to rank them on a scale from "very important" to "very unimportant." "Reclaiming Congress' constitutionally-defined duties" was ranked as the top priority, with 74 percent of respondents marking it as very important. Sixty-nine percent said "improving staff recruitment, diversity, retention, compensation, and benefits" was very important while "reforming the budget and appropriations process" and "ensuring continuity of congressional operations in emergencies" were both marked very important by 61 percent of those polled. Party divide: Seventy nine percent of Democrats were concerned about staff workplace issues, compared to 55 percent of Republicans, while GOP staff were more concerned about budget and appropriations reform, at 68 percent, compared to Democrats at 49 percent. "Congress is only as strong as its staff. As long as we aren't paying to recruit and retain the best, we won't have the best and Congress will suffer." —Legislative Director in a senator's personal office. WHO WAS SURVEYED — Respondents weren't a random sample. The group was a curated roster of 128 Hill staff who work in committee, personal, leadership and support offices, two-thirds of whom have spent more than a decade on the Hill. (Four hundred staff were invited, 128 agreed to participate.) CMF describes the group as "knowledgeable institutionalists." This is a different cohort than junior staff who have been making waves in recent months with a unionization drive and calls for improved workplace culture. Sixty six percent of the respondents are management, 34 percent had 11 to 20 years on the Hill, and 32 percent are lifers, with more than 20 years of service. BIG TAKEAWAY: "I believe there are solutions to the problems Congress has; the question is whether we have the collective will to implement them," said a legislative director in a Senate personal office. There is lots more in the report itself on bipartisanship, if staff feel safe doing their jobs, legislative collaboration and more. Take a look: State of the Congress 2022
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