We've got a long one today.
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Hi Friend,

 

Classrooms, board rooms, courtrooms, and even doctors offices all look a
little bit different these days. Coronavirus, for its incredible destructive
force, has been a boon for forcing institutions to rethink how they can adopt
technology to create a truly 21st century system. 


It’s enough to leave us to ask: what does 21st century governing look like? 


Twenty years into the 21st century, and we still don’t have a precise answer.
We know now that legislative sessions and hearings can be held over Zoom and
Skype, and that assembling staffers and politicians into committee hearing
rooms may not always be necessary. 


But there are still larger, more systemic questions about governing that
haven’t been answered. 


How, in a world that changes faster than ever before, can the government keep
up? 


Here are this week’s three things:

Is coronavirus what finally breaks us?
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It’s a tired story: partisanship has taken over Congress. Nothing gets done
anymore because each party is afraid of its base, and each party stokes fear
about the other side. We know the story; often, we’re the ones telling it in
this very email. A new report from theAssociation of Former Members of Congress
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analyzes the systematic issues with Congress and presents recommendations on
how to address them.  


Coronavirus, it seems, is making the situation in Congress worse. Already
devoid of the relationship building that had allowed previous generations of
politicians to shuttle through major bipartisan legislation, the dynamics in DC
have been even worse as of late — last week demonstrated by a profanity-laced
tirade Representative Yoho directed at Representative Ocasio-Cortez.As Zoom
calls and necessary social distancing allow elected officials to further
shelter themselves off from the other side, the real casualty may ultimately be
civility in the halls of Congress.  


It turns out, there is a benefit to rubbing elbows with your colleagues; there
is a benefit to happy hours and breakfasts. Even something as small as an
elevator ride with a member of the opposite party can allow for the creation of
a relationship — or at the very least, an understanding of the other side's
humanity that is so often missing in today’s Twitter wars and political
showdowns.Carl Huse writes
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this week about the report and its conclusions.



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A landmark subcommittee hearing.
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Big Tech had their day in front of Congress yesterday, and the Who’s Who of
tech bosses showed up to testify. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff
Bezos, and Apple’s Tim Cook were zoomed in to testify in front of the House
Anti-trust subcommittee. The tech industry, so long allowed to flourish
unchecked by the powers of Congress, suddenly found themselves under scrutiny,
as Congress worked to discern whether their unprecedented growth had violated
any anti-trust laws. 


As Wired’s Gilad Edleman
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points out, this was the first major anti-trust hearing since the 1970s.
Internal documents and communications from Facebook, Google, and Amazon
provided damning evidence that these organizations had engaged in systematic
(and illegal) processes to wipe-out and acquire competition. 


But here’s why it matters: these hearings could have damning and resounding
consequences for the makeup of the internet. When the hearings weren’t
descending into partisan rancor, our elected officials got at substantive
issues and questions that may prove critical when it comes to creating a new
system of legal guidelines —the likes of which haven’t been seen since the
breakup of monopolies during the Progressive Era. 


… that is, if they can keep it together long enough to get a bill through.



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Finally, let’s provide money for a 21st century election.
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Senate Republicans released their new stimulus package this week, coming up
against the Democrat-backed House bill, as well as warring factions in their
own party. Americans need relief, and less than 100 days before an election,
neither party wants to let the side claim victory. 


Unemployment assistance, small business relief, and food aid were common in
both bills, yet only one chamber included election assistance. The Senate bill,
tragically,neglected to direct any funds towards ensuring secure elections in
November
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, a not-all-together-shocking-but-nevertheless-disappointing decision that will
only cause chaos and uncertainty as election day creeps closer. 


American elections are being vastly underfunded right now; whether it’s for
PPE for poll workers, updated machinery, or yes, absentee and vote-by-mail
infrastructure, holding an election during a pandemic is expensive.Right now,
the majority of the cost for holding elections is being passed on to local
jurisdictions — the same jurisdictions that are facing revenue shortfalls as
coronavirus related closures shortages cause their tax bases to dwindle.
Americans have a right to secure and safe elections. Now we need Congress to
ensure that it happens.



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Do the right thing, Congress.
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Brett
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Brett Maney
Senior Communications Manager
Unite America
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