- Dozens of senior-level congressional staffers believe Congress isn't doing its job, per a new report.
- Ninety-five percent said polarization has caused what should be noncontroversial legislative ideas to fail.
- Congress is already witnessing record-low levels of public confidence.
Dozens of senior-level congressional staffers believe Congress is on a "vicious cycle of continual breakdown," according to a new report released today by two nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations that together support Congress and the federal workforce.
More than three in four congressional staffers said Congress is not functioning as a democratic legislature should, the Congressional Management Foundation and Partnership for Public Service's "State of the Congress" report concludes.
An overwhelming 95% of congressional staffers — Republicans and Democrats — said recent polarization has caused otherwise noncontroversial legislative ideas to fail.
"While many feel Congress is not performing as it should, the current climate of polarization and rancor make it difficult for members and staff to speak out for change without fear of ridicule or in some instances, even threats of violence against members, staff, and their families," the report states.
Bradford Fitch, president of the Congressional Management Foundation, told Insider that the report's findings should prompt Congress to acknowledge how polarization has negatively affected the institution's basic functions.
"When you look at the importance of civility and bipartisanship for the institution of function, there was zero daylight in between Democrats and Republicans [staffers]," he said. "Congress needs to identify potential ways that they can reduce polarization in order to increase the functioning of the institution."
In the first of what's slated to become an annual assessment of congressional performance by top House and Senate staff dubbed the "congressional exemplars," 128 congressional staffers — most of whom have worked in Congress for more than 10 years — decried rampant polarization and hyperpartisanship.
"Ideological and partisan differences are always going to be there," an unnamed House support office manager said in the report. "But a social reward and incentive structure for shaming and injuring others has turned debate into rhetorical warfare and point scoring."
The majority of the congressional staffers interviewed — 46% Democrat and 39% Republican — said they believe that solving constituents' problems is the primary role of Senators and Representatives.
But the people whom they are sworn to serve don't trust them, according to a separate Gallup poll released Tuesday. All three branches of the federal government saw new lows in confidence, with Congress being the institution in which the public trusted the least.
While congressional staffers of all ideological persuasions spoke in unison against the damages caused by partisan politics, they nevertheless stood divided on a number of issues.
Most notably, more than four in five Democratic staffers didn't believe current rules and codes of conduct for senators and representatives are sufficient to hold them accountable for their words and deeds. Slightly more than two in five Republican staffers didn't believe the rules and codes are adequate.
They also split when it came to constituent engagement.
Slightly more than three in five Republican staffers said members of Congress have enough information — and that lines of communication are adequate — to understand the needs of their constituents. Fewer than two in five Democratic staffers agreed.
Fitch noted that 97% of congressional staffers do agree that congressional leadership is responsible for enforcing the rules and norms of civility and decorum in Congress — a key aspect of public office that he fears has gone missing as of late.
"My experience in working with the Congress for over 35 years is that, frankly, some of the primary sources of partisanship isn't in the rank and file members, but in the leadership," Fitch, a former congressional staffer, told Insider. "Congress now has a yardstick which is established and designed by their own staff."
The "State of the Congress" report is intended to be a regular assessment, with reports published annually after the State of the Union address. The next report is slated to be published in early 2024.