394 Chapter 11 | CongressThe Responsibility–Responsiveness Dilemma
As mentioned earlier, polls show that despite generally approving of their own
member of Congress, people hold Congress itself in very low esteem. This is rooted in
the conflicts that arise from Congress’s dual roles: responsibility for national policy
making and responsiveness to local constituencies.^24 This duality may make members
of Congress appear to be simultaneously great leaders who debate important issues
and locally oriented representatives who work hard to deliver benefits for the district
(which may not be good for the country as a whole). Indeed, the range of issues that
Congress must address is vast, from debating tax and health care reform to overseeing
the classification of black-eyed peas, from debating the war on terror and expanding
free trade to declaring a National Cholesterol Education Month. Part of the national
frustration with Congress arises because we want our representatives to be responsible
and responsive; we want them to be great national leaders and to take care of our local
and, at times, personal concerns.
Difficult choices have to be made between being responsive and being responsible.
Rather than understanding these issues as inherent in the legislative process, we
often accuse members of gridlock and partisan bickering when our conflicting
demands are not met. For example, public-opinion polls routinely show that the
public wants lower taxes; more spending on education, the environment, and health
care; and balanced budgets. But those three things cannot happen simultaneously.
We often expect the impossible from Congress and then are frustrated when it
doesn’t happen.gridlock
An inability to enact legislation
because of partisan conflict within
Congress or between Congress and
the president.Party leadership is central in the
legislative process. In 2017 and 2018,
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan
(R-WI), Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA) had to work together and with
other members of Congress to pass
legislation.The responsibility–responsiveness dilemma brings us back to the puzzle we posed
at the beginning of this section: Why is there a persistent 30 to 40 percent gap between
approval ratings for individual members and for the institution? As Richard Fenno put
it, “If Congress is the ‘broken branch,’ how come we love our congressman so much?”^25
The answer may simply be that members of Congress tend to respond more to theirFull_12_APT_64431_ch11_374-417.indd 394 16/11/18 10:30 AM