[ONLINE] – Book Discussion: Congress Overwhelmed

Despite the confidence that members project in floor speeches and television appearances, Congress has been struggling for decades to perform its most basic legislative and oversight functions. One reason for the institution’s decline: a massive failure to invest in its internal capacity (staff, expertise, and experience). In a new edited volume, Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline in Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform, Political Reform Senior Fellow Lee Drutman and other scholars take stock of ways to revitalize Congress so that it can get to work solving the biggest problems of our time.

Please join New America’s Political Reform program on Thursday, January 28 from 12:00 pm  – 1:30 pm ET for a panel discussion about Congress Overwhelmed and what we can expect of our first branch of government as we enter a new era of Democratic control in Washington amid a pandemic, economic crisis, and ongoing threats of insurrection.

Speakers:

Ruth Bloch Rubin
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago

Lee Drutman, @leedrutman (moderator)
Senior Fellow, Political Reform, New America

James R. Jones, @blackcapitol
Assistant Professor, Department of African American Studies and Sociology, Rutgers University-Newark

Molly E. Reynolds, @mollyereynolds
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution