If it were possible, the first thing I'd do is fire every last one of them. But it's not, so if it were up to me and I had the power, here's how I'd fix Congress.
1. Make being a natural born citizen a requirement for service. If it's good enough for the President of the United States, then it should be good enough for Congress. This will ensure that the Congressman's first allegiance is to the United States and not the country they immigrated here from (not naming names, Ilhan Omar, you bitch).
2. Set term limits of 8 years. Again, if it's good enough for the President, then it's good enough for Congress. When Congress first set term limits in 1951 with the ratification of the 21st Amendment they did so to prevent the President from gaining too much power. The same is true for the Congress - we have people serving in Congress now who have way too much power, and not enough common sense to use it in the best interest of the country. Anyone who is in Congress now for longer than 8 years would NOT be eligible for re-election the next time that event rolls around. 8 years and you're OUT, with NO exceptions.
3. Reduce Congressional salaries to per diem only. This is how it was when Congress was first started, and it never should have changed. The position of Congressman wasn't intended to be a career, but of course the politicians made it that way as soon as they could by raising their own salaries and voting in other plush benefits for themselves while leaving the American citizens out in the cold to foot the bill and fend for themselves.
4. Prohibit Congress from exempting themselves from any legislation. If they pass a bill that's good enough for the American people, then it's good enough for them.
5. Eliminate the Congressional Pension Program. Right now a Congressman is eligible for a pension after only five years of service, and that's just wrong. You don't get a pension in the US Military unless you've served for at least 20 years, and since members of Congress will have term limits, that won't happen.
6. Eliminate the Congressional Health Care Program. If the American citizens have to provide their own health care, then so should the members of Congress.
7. Require members of Congress to pay for their own travel expenses. Again, if the American citizens have to do this, then so should members of Congress.
8. Require members of Congress to sponsor at least one bill per year. Failure to do so will result in their immediate expulsion and trigger a special election in their state.
9. Require members of Congress to live in the state they represent. And when I say "live in," I mean own a home in that state and live there for at least 8 months out of the year. This will ensure they stay in touch with the citizens they represent.
10. Make attendance at all voting sessions mandatory, and require all members to vote either "yes" or "no" on all bills being voted on. No more of this 'abstaining' bullshit. Get out there and do your fuckin' job.
11. Prohibit members of Congress or members of their immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, or child) from purchasing and/or trading stocks. Do I really need to explain why? (Hint: Nancy Pelosi.)
12. Prohibit members of Congress from hiring members of their immediate family to their staff to include re-election campaign staff. It's called 'nepotisim' and has no place in the government at any level.
Of course, no one has the power to do any of this no matter how good it sounds. All of this would have to be voted into effect by Congress, and we all know they're not gonna vote themselves out of a job or out of any of the plush benefits of serving in Congress. The only way to do this would be to have all of these ideas put on the ballot for a nationwide vote, and since Congress would have to approve that, once again I don't see it happening.
But you never know, right? We can all hope that one day this will happen and we can fix what's wrong with the Congress and our country before it's too late.
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