One of the biggest problems we have is centralizing power in Washington DC. It used to make sense to have congress meet in-person when the founders created the Constitution, since there was no other way to meet. Now, we can meet on-line (Zoom, MS Teams, etc.).
Having congress meet on-line for much of their work and requiring Congressmen and Senators to be in their district would dramatically change who has access to them. Rather than centralizing them in Washington DC, where corporate lobbyists have easy access to them, and citizens they represent can’t meet with them, this proposal will flip this access problem.
This proposal will require all legislators to work from their district (Representatives) or State (Senators), where constituents can easily meet with them and hold them accountable. It will also make it much harder for lobbyists to meet with them as they are spread across the 50 states.
In addition, this proposal will require that the electronic meetings between legislators discussing legislation or policy be open and recorded. This will allow the public to see what is going on, what is being offered for legislators votes, and bring true transparency to the process. No more closed doors where the people’s interests are ignored and the legislators get rich selling them out.
The only exception will be for national security issues, where legislators will be allowed to meet in Washington DC, but will be prohibited from meeting with lobbyists and working on other issues.