NewsPronto

 
The Times


.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

Amateur hour in Congress: How political newcomers fuel gridlock and government shutdowns

  • Written by Rachel Porter, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
imageLegislative progress depends on bipartisanship − but amateur lawmakers undermine it with their inexperience as legislators.Bloomberg Creative via Getty Images

The ongoing government shutdown shows how hard it has become for Congress to do its most basic job: keeping the government running. Ending the stalemate will require lawmakers from both...

Read more: Amateur hour in Congress: How political newcomers fuel gridlock and government shutdowns

More Articles ...

  1. The military’s diversity rises out of recruitment targets, not any ‘woke’ goals
  2. Why can’t every country get along with each other? It comes down to resources, inequality and perception
  3. Private equity firms are snapping up mobile home parks − and driving out the residents who can least afford to lose them
  4. Investors prefer ‘I’ over ‘we’ when CEOs apologize
  5. Bangladesh’s accession to the UN Water Convention has a ripple effect that could cause problems with India
  6. All government shutdowns disrupt science − in 2025, the consequences extend far beyond a lapse in funding
  7. Trump’s squeeze of Venezuela goes beyond Monroe Doctrine – in ideology, intent and scale, it’s unprecedented
  8. Trump’s squeeze of Venezuela goes beyond ‘Monroe doctrine’ – in ideology, intent and scale, it’s unprecedented
  9. The shutdown – and the House’s inaction – helps pave Congress’ path to irrelevance
  10. ‘Only death can protect us’: How the folk saint La Santa Muerte reflects violence in Mexico
  11. What is DNS? A computer engineer explains this foundational piece of the web – and why it’s the internet’s Achilles’ heel
  12. Symbolism of cemetery plants: How flowers, trees and other botanical motifs honor those buried beneath
  13. Wildlife recovery means more than just survival of a species
  14. It’s always been hard to make it as an artist in America – and it’s becoming only harder
  15. Back pain during pregnancy is often dismissed as a passing discomfort − a nurse explains why it should be taken seriously and treated
  16. 25 Years of the International Space Station: What archaeology tells us about living and working in space
  17. Health headlines can be confusing - these 3 questions can help you evaluate them
  18. People abused by intimate partners have worse asthma – but researchers are still untangling the reasons behind this surprising link
  19. The Jew in King Shaka’s court: How a 19th-century castaway shaped a Zulu leader’s legacy
  20. Trump’s ability to counter Netanyahu’s spoiler tactics in public may have been key to advancing a ceasefire in Gaza
  21. US squeeze on Venezuela won’t bring about rapid collapse of Maduro – in fact, it might boomerang on Washington
  22. 4 urgent lessons for Jamaica from Puerto Rico’s troubled hurricane recovery – and how the Jamaican diaspora could help after Melissa
  23. Voters lose when maps get redrawn before every election instead of once a decade − a trend started in Texas, moving to California and likely spreading across the country
  24. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ helped me process the Tree of Life massacre and other real-world horrors
  25. Beware the Anglo-Saxons! Why Russia likes to invoke a medieval tribe when talking about the West
  26. ‘My gender is like an empty lot’ − the people who reject man, woman and any other gender label
  27. Atorvastatin recall may affect hundreds of thousands of patients – and reflects FDA’s troubles inspecting medicines manufactured overseas
  28. What both sides of America’s polarized divide share: Deep anxieties about the meaning of life and existence itself
  29. Where does human thinking end and AI begin? An AI authorship protocol aims to show the difference
  30. Signature size and narcissism − a psychologist explains a long-ago discovery that helped establish the link
  31. With more Moon missions on the horizon, avoiding crowding and collisions will be a growing challenge
  32. Water bears survive cosmic radiation with one DNA-protecting protein – learning how could boost human resilience, too
  33. How autism rates are rising – and why that could lead to more inclusive communities
  34. Polarizing political events are leading Americans to increasingly call for a national divorce
  35. Nuclear-powered missiles: An aerospace engineer explains how they work – and what Russia’s claimed test means for global strategic stability
  36. Why are 4.7 million Floridians insured through ACA marketplace plans, and what happens if they lose their subsidies?
  37. Rediscovery of African American burial grounds provides long-overdue opportunities for collective healing
  38. Trump’s anti-Venezuela actions lack strategy, justifiable targets and legal authorization
  39. SNAP benefit freeze will leave millions nationwide struggling to pay for food – including 472,711 people in Philadelphia
  40. US leaders view China as a ‘pacing threat’ − has Washington enough stamina to last the race?
  41. Hurricane Melissa turned sharply to devastate Jamaica − how forecasters knew where it was headed
  42. Washington state settles controversy over child abuse law that tested the limits of ‘priest-penitent’ privilege
  43. How Hershey’s chocolate survived an attack from Mars − and adopted a business strategy alien to its founder
  44. CDC’s ability to prevent injuries like drowning, traumatic brain injury and falls is severely compromised by Trump cuts
  45. Agricultural drones are taking off globally, saving farmers time and money
  46. More than 40 years after police killed Eleanor Bumpurs in her Bronx apartment, people still #sayhername
  47. Fed struggles to assess state of US economy as government shutdown shuts off key data
  48. Fed lowers interest rates as it struggles to assess state of US economy without key government data
  49. Why you can salvage moldy cheese but never spoiled meat − a toxicologist advises on what to watch out for
  50. Future of nation’s energy grid hurt by Trump’s funding cuts