Congress Freezes Over too Easily

    Of all the things we should reform, how about the functions of Congress? Too often, our nation's legislative body freezes up when faced with issues needing action. Take health-care reform. Republicans spoke for seven years of the need to overhaul Obamacare. Now, seven months into their having control of both houses of Congress and the president being a Republican, they have knotted up each time they've tried to take action.
   I wonder if part of the reason Congress coughed up to the president some of its authority to declare war, is that it could see it is not well equipped to make a rapid-enough decision when necessary.
   I wonder if part of the reason Congress allows the president to designate national monuments is that it realizes many of the proposals wouldn't get beyond the debate stage if left to them.
   I wonder if we have so many presidential executive orders because Congress is not able to muster action on such things.
   And, I note how Congress each time comes right up to the deadline of defaulting on the national debt.
   Remember, our Constitution called for three governing bodies, with each having its own function. If we fail to correct the unresponsive nature of our law-making body, we will continue to leave decisions in the hands of the president that perhaps they ought to be in the hands of Congress.
   How important is congressional reform? If health-care reform is important, then perhaps congressional reform is just as important, for it is clear health-care reform would go forward faster if Congress did not lock up so easily.
   Some will argue the plodding, deliberative nature of Congress is a wise thing, providing careful, crafted, seasoned legislation. I will grant that thought some credibility. But, this does not downplay the negatives we currently experience.
   I do not know what the answers are. This is a topic I have just begun to consider. But, I am of the tentative feeling that this is a shortcoming we should endeavor to fix.