In recent months we have heard much confusion coming from Congresspeople regarding their responsibilities. Some of it has been so basic as to appear that Congresspeople don’t understand when they should vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on legislation. Well, I’m here to help. Feel free to forward this to your favorite Congressperson – they are certain to thank you for it.

1. Read the legislation you are voting on – this may seem pretty straightforward, but when legislation is dropped in your lap in the middle of the night and then you are given a limited number of hours to read it, you may feel that the task is too daunting. I might suggest having your staff split the job and summarize it for you (you have 18 staff in the House and 20 to 60 staff in the Senate – as they say ‘many hands make light work’). But in the words of one of my favorite comedians, Mike Goodwin, ‘whatchanotgonedo‘ is vote for something and say you didn’t read it or didn’t know what was in it. Rep Mike Flood, I’m talking to you.
2. Vote “No” when you don’t like the bill – Voters send representatives to Congress to vote in favor of bills they favor and against bills they don’t. Now, some of those bills will be a mixed bag, but ultimately you are there to make things better, not worse. Doctors practice on the ethic of ‘do no harm’ – you can adopt the same concept. So, if the bill does things that you believe are harmful, then vote no. Don’t vote for bills that you don’t wish to have passed (Sen. Lisa Murkowski). Don’t vote for bills that contain policies that you adamantly oppose – if you do so, then you are not really adamant about those policies, are you? Listening, Sen. Josh Hawley? How about you Rep. David Dalvadao? And if the details of the elements of a bill are too vague, and the Executive Branch is intransigent about the details, then vote ‘no’ – Sen. Thom Tillis, are you listening (or maybe you would prefer to retire early if you are merely going to delegate your legislative authority to the Executive Branch)?
3. Use Leverage to bend History – In a closely divided legislative branch, the power of any one Senator or Congressperson is increased. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy learned this the hard way in the last Congress. When bills are passing with the vote of the Vice-President or by one vote in the House, every Congressperson has power. You don’t like the Medicaid cuts Sen. Hawley, vote against the budget. You want the bill changed, Sen. Murkowski, don’t hope the House will do it for you – do the work yourself. Can’t get the answers you want, Sen. Tillis? Stop saying you will vote for the bill and force the Executive to answer your questions. Pretend you are leaders. Take the lead of the late Senator John McCain, who famously voted to tank the revocation of the Affordable Care Act (now one of the most popular bills of the past 20 years). Take some responsibility.

If you cannot manage to follow these fairly simple precepts, perhaps legislative public service is not for you – perhaps Chick-fil-A is hiring. And remember that they may want fries with that.

And the national disgrace continues…