Nothing gets done unless you have people in both parties willing to work together for the common good. That's what we're really sent here to do. People don't fully understand the complexity of the job. If you sit down and list the 10 toughest issues in America in your judgment, I can almost guarantee you that the Congress will vote on them in the next six months. Included in the goals for this series is a well-rounded and complete picture of the Congress, not just its positive aspects.
Oversight is an important function, but so many other priorities seem to get in the way of it.
The Center on Congress was created by IU in 1999 to help improve the public's understanding of Congress and to improve civic engagement, especially among young people, as a way to strengthen our basic institutions of government. Its unique mission among research centers is explaining Congress to the average citizen. The Close Up Foundation, based in Alexandria, Va., is the nation's largest non-profit, nonpartisan, citizenship education organization. Since its founding in 1970, Close Up has worked to promote responsible and informed participation in the democratic process through a variety of educational programs. For example, it regularly arranges for students and teachers nationwide to come to Washington in order to see government in action.