Is This Really How We’re Legislating Now?

Brendan Buck: “The process was marred by dynamics that have increasingly undermined Congress’s status as a dominant and deliberative institution: The bill lacked a clear and inspired purpose, it supplanted the expertise of congressional committees for the whims of holdouts and the president, and it relied on the make-or-break reconciliation mechanism that limits the ability to write sound policy.”

“Congress is no longer in the business of thoughtful legislating. Its role has been reduced to putting political points on the board for the president.”