Political Reform: Fixing a Deadlocked System

Dysfunction in Washington has reached a critical point. This dysfunction—the inability to reach minimum bipartisan agreement on legislation and move the country forward—is a result of increasingly polarized partisan politics. The problem manifests itself in the failure to do basic things like pass budgets and keep the government open, the increasingly prevalent use of wasteful continuing resolutions to fund the federal government (the average CR has increased in length by nearly 200% in the last decade), the frequency and duration of government shutdowns (once unthinkable, these have now grown from one-day flukes to weeks-long crises), and the inability of elected representatives to pull together and tackle pressing national issues such as immigration, crumbling infrastructure, and the ballooning national debt.

In order to address this trend, CSPC launched the Commission on Civility and Effective Governance in 2018 to convene bipartisan leaders from government service and the private sector to identify the key issues contributing to this dysfunction and how to fix them. The fundamental fact is that there is a problem of misaligned incentives in our political system, which encourage elected leaders to cater to the most extreme voters who prioritize rigid ideology over the cooperation needed to move the country forward.

CSPC is dedicated to identifying compelling nonpartisan solutions to today’s pressing issues. This report is designed to assist decision-makers and citizens alike in bridging the divides that have stymied progress in Washington for too long. The ultimate goal is a democratic system that allows for healthy debate, inspires public trust, and encourages cooperation to move the country forward.

publication details

• Author:

  CSPC Commission on the Civility and Effective Governance

• Publication date:

  January 31st, 2019

• Pages:

  40