Who really cares what a couple of U.S. senators and representatives think about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? After all, it’s not like hearing from the president of the United States or from top military experts.
This, sadly, has increasingly been the view of much of the citizenry of late. But it’s wrongheaded in the extreme. Thankfully, one senator is looking to get lawmakers more involved again — as they are supposed to be.
In an interview on Sunday with The Daily 202, a newsletter produced by The Washington Post, Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, noted that “Congress has tended to avoid hard conversations and then abdicate its responsibilities when a president makes the hard decisions.”
This is not how our government is supposed to work. But far too often, and in a great many areas, lawmakers – from both political parties – seem to feel that it’s perfectly OK to let others do the heavy lifting.
Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke with The Post from Rome, where he was leading a congressional delegation that also visited France and Georgia.
Our government functions best when the folks making decisions are answerable to the voters. This ought to go without saying since we are, after all, a representative republic.
Lawmakers are supposed to discuss the issues, openly, publicly, asking questions and seeking answers. And then they vote. But this is largely missing from the day-to-day of governing in our era.
Too many decisions are made by those who are members of the bureaucracy, the folks who hold positions throughout government but are mostly out of sight and beyond the reach of the voters. Should we send more aid to Ukraine? Let lawmakers debate the matter. Should we replenish the weapons stocks of nations that have been shipping arms to the Ukrainian military? Let Congress debate the matter. And how should we respond if Russia widens its assault, perhaps by invading a non-NATO nation? Let Congress debate the matter.
Imagine a member of the generation that founded our nation traveling through time to see how things worked out. After getting past the shock of technology – air travel, instant worldwide wireless communications, smartphones – our visitor from the past would doubtless be surprised by the persistent powers of the imperial presidency.
What, he might well ask, happened to Congress? Good question.