THE CONGRESS: The Crack in the Constitution

(10 of 10)

Other possible reforms would involve improving the public image of legislators by tightening conflict-of-inter est rules, including the banning of outside work (the $42,500 annual salary, plus expense allowance, should be adequate to make the job worthy of a member's full time). The overseer functions of committees should be emphasized, to determine whether the congressional intent of programs is being carried out by the Executive Branch.

Some argue that the problems on the Hill are psychological, having to do with the sheer will of Congress to make itself felt. Perhaps more than any specific set of reforms, the Congress needs only to use more fully the tools and potential it has long possessed. "Reforms are not going to make any difference unless there is the will in Congress to want to govern," contends Packwood. "We can set policy, we can take back the powers if we want. But we have said 'can't, can't, can't' so long it has become an excuse for 'won't.' " Sums up MacNeil: "I have never seen Capitol Hill so alive to its problems, so anxious to begin the restoration. Yet whether that will can be sustained for an extended time—time enough to accomplish the ends—is debatable. Carrying the hard commitment for the necessary months and years is not easily done."

In an age of growing complexity—and in an era when momentous glob al decisions might have to be made in an instant—a strong presidency is necessary. But not a presidency made strong with the usurped powers of an other branch. As a former Senator and Congressman, it seems strange that Nixon does not fully appreciate this. The shape in which Congress emerges from its crisis, whether regaining its lost luster or continuing to recede, to function as a kind of windy Washington side show, may be determined by what the public demands of it. Ultimately, the nation gets the kind of Congress it deserves. As Charles Jones observes:

"Whatever is wrong with Congress may also reflect ills in the society. And if the legislature fails, democracy fails."