Reforming Congress – Timothy LaPira, James Madison University

February 22, 2022   Matthew Chervenak

  • Congressional Reform
  • Video
  • 0:14 – Background
  • 2:50 – What was it like working in both the district and D.C. office of a member of Congress?
  • 6:10 – Moving from the Hill to a University Setting
  • 7:50 – Broad areas of research
  • 12:47 – Lobbying research
  • 21:10 – What do clients pay for and what do lobbyists get for them?
  • 25:53 – Shaping part of lobbying for bills
  • 29:43 – Congressional Capacity Work
  • 41:44 – Is any constituent service budget that is justified?
  • 47:03 – Increasing committee staff
  • 53:48 – Having a speaker that is not a member
  • 57:52 – Notion of political elites and flow of information
  • 1:04:43 – Representation’s effect on the flow of information
    [Lightning Round]
  • 1:08:15 – What do you think congressional representation should mean?
  • 1:16:13 – How would your ideal Congress allocate its time?
  • 1:19:32 – How should debate, deliberation, or dialogue occur or be structured in Congress?
  • 1:22:37 – What fundamental institutional improvement should Congress make within 50 years?
  • 1:26:15 – What book or article most shaped your thinking with respect to congressional reform?
  • 1:29:18 – Long term plans