Rep. Steve Pearce proposes 'virtual' Congress

Rep. Steve Pearce, after more than a decade in the House, thinks he knows why people are so unhappy with Congress. Once elected, lawmakers become creatures of Washington and lose touch with the people who sent them there.

To fix it, the New Mexico Republican has proposed a resolution that would let lawmakers work the way millions of others do: remotely.

His resolution, H.Res. 298, encourages the House Administration Committee to explore ways to let members work in a "virtual setting." That would include letting members debate, vote, and even attend hearings while they're home.

"The biggest complaint that exists about Washington is that they seem to be out of touch with the voters," Pearce told the Washington Examiner. "And so, the ultimate impact would be to put us extremely back in touch with our voters."

Pearce believes this move would bring dramatic changes to Congress. To Pearce, working remotely isn't about letting lawmakers skip their morning shower and letting them lounge around the basement all day.

"I wouldn't visualize us sitting at home," he said.

Instead, he imagines moving around his huge district in New Mexico, and letting voters watch live as he debates and votes in committee or on the floor. Pearce wants to set up huge screens in local auditoriums to let people watch what Congress is doing up close, while their representative is in the room with them.

He thinks the pressure of having real people watch the process live would give members a new perspective.

"If you were facing your constituents rather than the lobbyists, there would be a great accountability that would change the pulse of this place within hours," he said.

For Pearce, there's no reason not to do it. The technology exists, and is already being used in the private sector.

"All kinds of corporate boards meet like this already, and it saves time, saves energy," said Pearce, who logs several hours each week commuting to and from New Mexico.

But convenience is just part of it. The biggest change, Pearce said, would be a stronger connection to real people, and a more distant relationship with lobbyists.

"The lobbyists should have to work harder to see us, and our constituents should have to work easier," he said. "We've got it upside down."

Could his plan ever take off in the House? Pearce thinks House leaders of either party will resist it, since it makes their jobs harder.

"It would make it more difficult for leadership to kind of direct traffic the way they do," he said. "I don't think that they're very accommodating to it, or would like the idea much."

That hasn't stopped him from urging the House Rules Committee to consider the idea.

"With modern technology, Congress has the ability to be in our districts while we debate and carry out our congressional duties," he wrote to them in a letter this month. "Keeping legislators closer to the people we represent would allow constituents to see and feel, first-hand, their government at work and have the potential to save millions in travel expenses."

Eventually, Pearce figures, voters will demand the change.

"I think it's something that the people will eventually insist on," he said. "They get pretty furious when they elect folks and they come up here, and you know, pretty soon they're part of the system up here."

On 5/15/2017 3:14 AM, burfordTjustice wrote:
Rep. Steve Pearce proposes 'virtual' Congress

Rep. Steve Pearce, after more than a decade in the House, thinks he knows why people are so unhappy with Congress. Once elected, lawmakers become creatures of Washington and lose touch with the people who sent them there.

To fix it, the New Mexico Republican has proposed a resolution that would let lawmakers work the way millions of others do: remotely.

His resolution, H.Res. 298, encourages the House Administration Committee to explore ways to let members work in a "virtual setting." That would include letting members debate, vote, and even attend hearings while they're home.

"The biggest complaint that exists about Washington is that they seem to be out of touch with the voters," Pearce told the Washington Examiner. "And so, the ultimate impact would be to put us extremely back in touch with our voters."

Pearce believes this move would bring dramatic changes to Congress. To Pearce, working remotely isn't about letting lawmakers skip their morning shower and letting them lounge around the basement all day.

"I wouldn't visualize us sitting at home," he said.

Instead, he imagines moving around his huge district in New Mexico, and letting voters watch live as he debates and votes in committee or on the floor. Pearce wants to set up huge screens in local auditoriums to let people watch what Congress is doing up close, while their representative is in the room with them.

He thinks the pressure of having real people watch the process live would give members a new perspective.

"If you were facing your constituents rather than the lobbyists, there would be a great accountability that would change the pulse of this place within hours," he said.

For Pearce, there's no reason not to do it. The technology exists, and is already being used in the private sector.

"All kinds of corporate boards meet like this already, and it saves time, saves energy," said Pearce, who logs several hours each week commuting to and from New Mexico.

But convenience is just part of it. The biggest change, Pearce said, would be a stronger connection to real people, and a more distant relationship with lobbyists.

"The lobbyists should have to work harder to see us, and our constituents should have to work easier," he said. "We've got it upside down."

Could his plan ever take off in the House? Pearce thinks House leaders of either party will resist it, since it makes their jobs harder.

"It would make it more difficult for leadership to kind of direct traffic the way they do," he said. "I don't think that they're very accommodating to it, or would like the idea much."

That hasn't stopped him from urging the House Rules Committee to consider the idea.

"With modern technology, Congress has the ability to be in our districts while we debate and carry out our congressional duties," he wrote to them in a letter this month. "Keeping legislators closer to the people we represent would allow constituents to see and feel, first-hand, their government at work and have the potential to save millions in travel expenses."

Eventually, Pearce figures, voters will demand the change.

"I think it's something that the people will eventually insist on," he said. "They get pretty furious when they elect folks and they come up here, and you know, pretty soon they're part of the system up here."

Our government can't function that way.
Government is all about taxing and spending.
I want the benefit, spending.
I want YOU to pay for it, taxing.
There's never enough tax to achieve the spending.
The rich and powerful, through lobbyists make back-room deals.
I'll vote for your bill on energy if you sneak my transgender
bathroom bill into page 385 of your bill...I won't tell if you don't.
That's the way negotiation works. Things get so complex that nobody
reads 'em.
Everybody gets what they don't want
and raise taxes, or just print money to cover it.

Limit each bill to ONE issue that can be summarized on one page.
Put it up on the web so people can watch the changes and tweet or
email their representatives with their opinions which get categorized
and summarized along with the bill.

If lawmakers can work from home, the reverse it true. They can take
town hall meetings remotely.
Once it is all humming nicely, let 'em work from home.

I think it's a great concept, but it won't work without major
changes in the way people interact for the greater good.
And you'll have to evict the influence peddlers in the process.
It would be a major upheaval.

The elephant in the room is detachment.
People need to be face to face.
Think how you'd behave in a public place like a restaurant.
Watch how people behave in newsgroups where there are no
consequences to their words and deeds.
Would you want to be governed the way crap gets shoveled in the
newsgroups? Would you want your senator to be able to turn off
his computer in disgust and go fishing?
I know I wouldn't.

I want my senator to be like any other contractor. He gets paid
if he shows up prepared and the result is satisfactory.
Government shutdown because the jerks can't pass a budget by
a deadline they've known about forever should be punished by
jail time!! ACCOUNTABILITY DAMMIT!!

On 5/15/2017 7:05 AM, mike wrote:
On 5/15/2017 3:14 AM, burfordTjustice wrote:
Rep. Steve Pearce proposes 'virtual' Congress

Rep. Steve Pearce, after more than a decade in the House, thinks he
knows why people are so unhappy with Congress. Once elected, lawmakers
become creatures of Washington and lose touch with the people who sent
them there.

To fix it, the New Mexico Republican has proposed a resolution that
would let lawmakers work the way millions of others do: remotely.

His resolution, H.Res. 298, encourages the House Administration
Committee to explore ways to let members work in a "virtual setting."
That would include letting members debate, vote, and even attend
hearings while they're home.

"The biggest complaint that exists about Washington is that they seem
to be out of touch with the voters," Pearce told the Washington
Examiner. "And so, the ultimate impact would be to put us extremely
back in touch with our voters."

Pearce believes this move would bring dramatic changes to Congress. To
Pearce, working remotely isn't about letting lawmakers skip their
morning shower and letting them lounge around the basement all day.

"I wouldn't visualize us sitting at home," he said.

Instead, he imagines moving around his huge district in New Mexico,
and letting voters watch live as he debates and votes in committee or
on the floor. Pearce wants to set up huge screens in local auditoriums
to let people watch what Congress is doing up close, while their
representative is in the room with them.

He thinks the pressure of having real people watch the process live
would give members a new perspective.

"If you were facing your constituents rather than the lobbyists, there
would be a great accountability that would change the pulse of this
place within hours," he said.

For Pearce, there's no reason not to do it. The technology exists, and
is already being used in the private sector.

"All kinds of corporate boards meet like this already, and it saves
time, saves energy," said Pearce, who logs several hours each week
commuting to and from New Mexico.

But convenience is just part of it. The biggest change, Pearce said,
would be a stronger connection to real people, and a more distant
relationship with lobbyists.

"The lobbyists should have to work harder to see us, and our
constituents should have to work easier," he said. "We've got it
upside down."

Could his plan ever take off in the House? Pearce thinks House leaders
of either party will resist it, since it makes their jobs harder.

"It would make it more difficult for leadership to kind of direct
traffic the way they do," he said. "I don't think that they're very
accommodating to it, or would like the idea much."

That hasn't stopped him from urging the House Rules Committee to
consider the idea.

"With modern technology, Congress has the ability to be in our
districts while we debate and carry out our congressional duties," he
wrote to them in a letter this month. "Keeping legislators closer to
the people we represent would allow constituents to see and feel,
first-hand, their government at work and have the potential to save
millions in travel expenses."

Eventually, Pearce figures, voters will demand the change.

"I think it's something that the people will eventually insist on," he
said. "They get pretty furious when they elect folks and they come up
here, and you know, pretty soon they're part of the system up here."

Our government can't function that way.
Government is all about taxing and spending.
I want the benefit, spending.
I want YOU to pay for it, taxing.
There's never enough tax to achieve the spending.
The rich and powerful, through lobbyists make back-room deals.
I'll vote for your bill on energy if you sneak my transgender
bathroom bill into page 385 of your bill...I won't tell if you don't.
That's the way negotiation works. Things get so complex that nobody
reads 'em.
Everybody gets what they don't want
and raise taxes, or just print money to cover it.

Limit each bill to ONE issue that can be summarized on one page.
Put it up on the web so people can watch the changes and tweet or
email their representatives with their opinions which get categorized
and summarized along with the bill.

If lawmakers can work from home, the reverse it true. They can take
town hall meetings remotely.
Once it is all humming nicely, let 'em work from home.

I think it's a great concept, but it won't work without major
changes in the way people interact for the greater good.
And you'll have to evict the influence peddlers in the process.
It would be a major upheaval.

The elephant in the room is detachment.
People need to be face to face.
Think how you'd behave in a public place like a restaurant.
Watch how people behave in newsgroups where there are no
consequences to their words and deeds.
Would you want to be governed the way crap gets shoveled in the
newsgroups? Would you want your senator to be able to turn off
his computer in disgust and go fishing?
I know I wouldn't.

I want my senator to be like any other contractor. He gets paid
if he shows up prepared and the result is satisfactory.
Government shutdown because the jerks can't pass a budget by
a deadline they've known about forever should be punished by
jail time!! ACCOUNTABILITY DAMMIT!!

Someone said that instead of congress we should let a computer run the
country. The computer would do logical things unlike the political
human nitwits that inhabit congress.

Frank" "frank "frank wrote:
On 5/15/2017 7:05 AM, mike wrote:
Someone said that instead of congress we should let a
computer run the
country. The computer would do logical things unlike the
political
human nitwits that inhabit congress.

Frank,
please stop feeding the trolls and crossposting into the
troll groups.
There is enough of them here as it is