We've all been there. The electrical outlet in the kitchen that no longer works, the squeaky floorboard, the oily spot on the wall in the basement. You put them on the to-do list and then ... never get around to them.
Democrats in Congress have a similar list, but the consequences of their inaction could be much more dramatic: legislative stalemates, democratic backsliding and even economic collapse.
It's been clear for a few years that American democracy is in need of repair. While it's tempting to dream about dramatic changes to the Constitution, such as eliminating the Electoral College or reforming the Supreme Court, the reality is that many of the most-needed changes are relatively small and straightforward.
In fact, like a homeowner who's avoiding fixing the hallway light as they dream about adding a deck, the fact that these repairs are so mundane is a bit of an obstacle. No one runs for office on updating a dusty old statute. It's much more exciting to propose a constitutional amendment, even if that idea is going nowhere.
But checking off some items on this to-do list would help prevent a future catastrophe.
Here are seven simple things that Democrats should do:
End the filibuster. If Democrats maintain control of the Senate, the first thing they need to do is end the absurd 60-vote threshold to pass laws. They already did away with the filibuster for confirming most federal judges in 2013, and Republicans followed suit in 2017 for Supreme Court justices. It doesn't make sense that passing a law would take more votes than giving someone a lifetime appointment to a job that they can then use to undermine those laws.
It's long past time to scrap this arbitrary limit, which has just encouraged hostage-taking and pointless brinkmanship.
End the debt ceiling. Even if Democrats win big in November, the odds are high that Republicans will win back a congressional chamber in two years. We've all seen what happens next: Republicans refuse to vote for a routine raising of the debt ceiling, leading to a needless legislative standoff that threatens the world economy. It's long past time to scrap this arbitrary limit, which has just encouraged hostage-taking and pointless brinkmanship.
Automatically raise the minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is set by Congress, which only gets around to increasing it every few years. Lawmakers last raised it in 2009, which means it's actually been decreasing in value as inflation has eaten away at it, especially since the pandemic. Social Security benefits are automatically increased each year based on the cost of living. The minimum wage should be as well.
Repeal the Comstock Act. This 1873 anti-obscenity law hasn’t been enforced in decades, but recently some conservative activists have sought to revive it to restrict access to abortion medication or even emergency contraception. While this idea hasn’t been tested in courts and certainly won’t be attempted by a Democratic White House, lawmakers should repeal this antiquated law and take that option off the table for good.
Limit temporary Cabinet appointments. As president, Donald Trump took advantage of the process for naming acting Cabinet secretaries to circumvent Congress' constitutional role to "advise and consent" on appointments. Some of these appointees would not have been confirmed if they had been put up for a vote. Others clearly viewed the temporary appointment as an audition, making them much less likely to stand up to the president. Congress should reform the Vacancies Act.
Protect civil servants. Trump also sought new ways to fire people in his administration, signing an executive order in 2020 that would have allowed him to dismiss tens of thousands of federal workers and replace them with loyalists. (One former Republican staffer memorably called those potential replacements “an army of suck-ups.") President Joe Biden repealed that order and sought to add new protections for civil servants, but Congress should pass a law definitively putting this idea to rest.
Limit national emergencies. The law allowing presidents to declare national emergencies is in need of updating. Already poorly drafted, it has been reinterpreted and limited by court rulings that allow emergencies to be endlessly renewed. (One issued during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 is still in place.) Lawmakers from both parties are interested in giving Congress more power to end a national emergency.
The list doesn't end here, of course. Congress will also need to consider more serious reforms, including updating voting rights laws, continuing to fight climate change and codifying abortion rights, to mention a few big-ticket items. Those efforts will require serious debate about the best approach and will likely take time and political will to muscle them through.
The to-do list, meantime, is much simpler.
There will be no ribbon-cutting ceremony for updating an old law and no celebratory campaign ads for preventing a future catastrophe.
If Congress makes most of these fixes, voters will hardly notice them. There will be no ribbon-cutting ceremony for updating an old law and no celebratory campaign ads for preventing a future catastrophe.
But that can also be a reason for doing them since voters are also unlikely to get upset about them. And one day, when the storm clouds start gathering, they'll be thankful that they got around to fixing that hole in the roof.
