Hamilton discusses role of Congress

Former U.S. Representative for Indiana and 9-11 Commission Vice Chair Lee Hamilton said Congress has ceded too much power to the presidency and needs to reassert some of its fundamental authority in a speech Tuesday in the Moot Court Room of the IU School of Law. \n"They don't need a new constitutional convention; they don't need to pass a new law," he said. "All the Congress needs to do is not be so timid and to exercise its power of the purse and to engage their president on matters of war."\nHamilton's speech was part of a four-day visit to Bloomington. The former representative will address the United States' role in the world with a focus on relations with Islamic nations at noon today. This speech, also in the Moot Court Room, is titled "How to Use American Power." \n"I'll be talking about the kind of world which we live in and how the United States should respond and the type of public policy they should enact," he said.\nHamilton, the director of IU's Center on Congress, spoke Tuesday to promote his new book, "How Congress Works and Why You Should Care," published by the IU Press. He said he wrote the book, which is aimed at the general public, because he was concerned that Americans did not understand the functions and responsibilities of Congress.\n"I have had thousands of public meetings in southern Indiana," Hamilton said. "I often found myself explaining to people the role of Congress."\nBut he said most college students do have a good understanding of the U.S. Legislature.\n"The ordinary college student today is really very well informed, and they're interested," Hamilton said. "And they grasp the importance of the role of the Congress in representative democracy."\nThe book will help to inform the electorate, something that is important to democracy in the United States, said Marilyn Breiter, the marketing manager for IU Press.\n"We're very pleased to be able to help in that mission of getting out Mr. Hamilton's book and the importance of Congress," she said.\nThough he stressed the importance of public understanding of the Legislature, Hamilton, who served as the U.S. representative in Indiana's 9th District for 34 years, also criticized it for giving up too much power.\n"Congress is not a co-equal, separate branch of the U.S. government anymore," he said.\nHamilton said legislators have given up most of their primary authority -- the power of the purse. Under the current system, the president gives Congress a proposed budget, which spans thousands of pages. Hamilton said these bills, called omnibus bills, restrict deliberation in Congress because they are too large and cannot be amended.\n"The omnibus spending bill is an abomination," he said.\nHamilton also said Congress has ceded its power to declare war. He said in every conflict after World War II the Legislature has deferred to the president.\n"I do not think Congress is fulfilling its responsibility as well as it should in exercising oversight of the president," he said.\nLaw student Luseni Pieh said he had never seen Hamilton speak before but came because he wanted to learn more about the dynamics of Congress.\n"I was really impressed with how he addressed the status of Congress really candidly," he said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Michael Zennie at mzennie@indiana.edu.