Rules Reform in the People’s House

Recommendations for Overcoming Partisan Gridlock in the U.S. House of Representatives

Congress is failing the American people. The two major political parties are locked in an unproductive, back-and-forth conflict—a source of endless frustration for both leadership and rank-and-file members. Leadership is saddled with the impossible task of imposing near-perfect discipline on a fractious membership, and they are criticized by the media every time a single member refuses to toe the party line. And the rank-and-file are relegated to the role of partisan foot soldiers rather than having real opportunities to influence public policy; it is no surprise that they are leaving Congress in record numbers. Meanwhile, the greatest harm of all is to the American people, who send their representatives to Congress to champion their views and to solve public problems, but who increasingly see their institutions produce only partisan acrimony and gridlock. 

There is another way. Members should be rewarded for doing the substance of their jobs: addressing policy challenges and building coalitions behind their solutions. They should have an incentive to organize groups within and across political parties that coalesce around common goals. When members have opportunities to differentiate themselves from their partisan peers, there is much greater potential for them to rise above tired two-party disputes, and to define themselves in ways that are more specific to the needs of their own constituents.