Abstract

Streamlining Congress

The article focuses on the book "A Twentieth-Century Congress," by Estes Kefauver and Jack Levin. The long-delayed Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 was only a promising beginning in the streamlining of a horse-and-buggy U.S. Congress. Representative Kefauver and Levin now present is a simple, readable and comprehensive fashion the necessary next steps. Their catalogue of overdue reforms is a long one-the strengthening of party responsibility, the installation of electric voting, the elimination of the filibuster, better liaison with and supervision of executive agencies, scrapping of the seniority rule in committee assignments, a regular question-answer period for Cabinet members reducing the petty tasks of both Congress and its members; there are other concrete suggestions.