Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Ellen Ratner
I was in the airport the other day and ran into J.C. Watts, the African-American Republican who left his leadership position in the House for private life. He left Congress at the top of his game, as Chairman of the House Republican Conference, the 4th-highest position of leadership in the House. Our short discussion focused on what was happening to the Republicans in Congress, and he said, ''Something happens to people when they get there, Congress changes people, good people.''

My readers will be surprised that this liberal is best of friends with Rep. Bob Ney. I was also at least a causal acquaintance of Mark Foley. Both Republicans, both in big trouble. There are many others in Congress, who have in the past, or are currently teetering in the present, on illegal or stupid acts. How do we clean up Congress? How do we prevent good people from going bad?

People are motivated to run for Congress for three basic reasons: public service, fame and/or power. These reasons are not mutually exclusive. Public service is a lofty goal; fame and power are not. Many people who seek office do so for complicated internal reasons. People who seek fame do so because, according to New York Times journalist Benedict Carey, ''Their fame-seeking behavior appears rooted in a desire for social acceptance, a longing for the existential reassurance promised by wide renown.'' Author Albert Brim of ''The Fame Motive'' says that longing for renown or lingering feelings of rejection and neglect lead to the desire for fame.

How do we fix the mess in Congress, taking into account the personalities that strive to become members; and what happens in the protective bubble that encases members of Congress when they get there?

I propose several solutions:

1. Stop making congressional misbehavior a partisan issue. It happens on all sides of the aisle. It is a ''systems'' issue. The system is what leads to this mess.

2. Develop employee assistance programs for members of Congress. They have one in place for staff, but not for members. All major corporations have a program so that any employee can be referred to, or personally seek counseling for drinking, inappropriate behavior, personal debt, and other problems. Members of Congress are elected by citizens in their district, so you can't threaten their jobs, but you could threaten committee assignments. You do not have to have a PhD in clinical psychology to recognize that James Traficant of Ohio was manic depressive. He should have gone to the House shrink way before he wound up at the House ethics committee. Encourage staffs and family members to report questionable behavior so the member can get help.

3. Put term limits on all chairmanships and committee memberships. Make seniority a relic of the past, so that ordinary citizen members, (those elected within the last six years), have an opportunity to serve. Term limits for members may not be a reality except by a constitutional amendment which may take years. Term limits for leadership and committee memberships are immediate steps which can be put into place without getting all 50 states to agree.

4. Institute transparency by making the schedules of the members of Congress public, (details of family time would be excluded, however). Put the schedules on the Internet weekly. Penalty for non-reporting would be loss of committee assignments. This would make all trips (even if the member paid for it), dinners, golf outings and the like a matter of public record. Suspicious outside influences (like Jack Abrahamoff), would be there for every citizen, local radio host and newspaper to see and analyze. It would also make it easy to see which members require others to ''pay to play.''

5. Make the famous ''district work period'' a real work period. Congressional leaders should be encouraged to participate in three ''one week work experiences'' per year. Former Sen. Bob Graham learned of the everyday lives and needs of his constituents by literally walking or in this case, working in their shoes. He worked hundreds of different jobs for a day in his district. It was a great experience and kept him in touch with his constituents. Imagine what would happen if Denny Hastert or Nancy Pelosi worked for a week each as wait staff in a restaurant, a customer service agent at an insurance company, or as a taxi driver or teacher? Work laws would change, tax laws would change and so would access by the guys with big money and influence.

6. Put congressional office budgets online. All expenditures including large equipment purchases, car leases and the like should be available for scrutiny. The public has a right to know.

These steps would not eliminate all wrong doing, ''stinking thinking'' (alcoholism) and the fame/power bubble that gripmembers once they land on the Hill. They would, however, go a long way toward keeping members in touch with the public service motivations of their personalities. We can't get rid of the fame and power motivation but we can work together to keep it in check.