Disappointed in Advocacy to Grow Government and Deep State

I really enjoy The Epoch Times. Most of your articles are truly informative, well-researched, and balanced.

That said, I was surprised and disappointed in the article published Nov. 21, “Congress Should Hire More Staff, Task Force Says.” The article reported on a task force finding that Congress needs to hire more staff, pay them more, and keep them in place to establish “institutional memory” in order to compete with lobbyists and the Executive branch.

Anyone watching the impeachment hearings ought to see that a large, empowered, and well-paid institution becomes a powerful entity far more interested in sustaining its existence than doing the will of the people. We also see the institution establishing its own beliefs and goals, unable to change or modify to meet the will of a duly elected President or Congress.

That said, there is no argument that lobbyists and government bureaucrats do have far more power and influence than the folks in Congress and their staff. There is a better answer than making the federal government bigger. The answer is in making the federal government smaller and focusing on those issues truly relevant to centralized control.

Congress can increase its power by returning to its constitutional structure. They should eliminate all the Executive branch departments which are not itemized in the Constitution, including Education and Energy and more. They should repeal and not replace all federal legislation relating to these departments. Without federal oversight and intrusion, states will take over their rightful responsibilities in these areas. United States Parents Involved in Education has developed a blueprint for Ending All Federal Involvement in Education. You can find it at USPIE.org.

Then, Congress should return to the practice of passing small, well-defined, easily understood legislation. This approach eliminates the need for hundreds of experts and lawyers. This approach empowers all citizens to be able to understand and provide feedback to their elected federal officials. This approach reduces the need for Executive bureaucrats to become legislators, executives, and judges, as they are no longer needed to write pages and pages of regulation.

I was very disappointed that your article offered no alternative to solving the bloated power of government beyond making it more bloated and more powerful.

Melanie Michigan