Editing United States Congress (section)

===20th century===
[[File:United States Congress circa 1915.jpeg|thumb|The United States Congress, {{Circa|1915}}]]
[[File:Combined--Control of the U.S. House of Representatives - Control of the U.S. Senate.png|thumb|A historical graph of [[Party divisions of United States Congresses|party control]] of the Senate, House, and Presidency.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm |title=Party in Power – Congress and Presidency – A Visual Guide to the Balance of Power in Congress, 1945–2008 |publisher=Uspolitics.about.com |access-date=September 17, 2012 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101145605/http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm |archive-date=November 1, 2012 }}</ref>]]
[[File:1989 Congress Bicentennial-Dollar.jpg|thumb|The 200th anniversary of Congress anniversary in 1989, which was honored by [[United States Congress Bicentennial commemorative coins]]]]
By the beginning of the 20th century, party structures and leadership emerged as key organizers of Senate proceedings.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Roger H. |title=Congress and Its Members |last2=Oleszek |first2=Walter J. |last3=Lee |first3=Frances E. |last4=Schickler |first4=Eric |last5=Curry |first5=James M. |publisher=Sage CQ Press |year=2022 |isbn=9781071836859 |edition=18th |location=Thousand Oaks, CA |pages=161–162 |language=English}}</ref>

A system of seniority, in which long-time members of Congress gained more and more power, encouraged politicians of both parties to seek long terms. [[United States congressional committees|Committee]] chairmen remained influential in both houses until the reforms of the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fromkin |first=Lauren |date=February 15, 2024 |title=Cleaning Up House: Reforms to Empower U.S. House Committees |url=https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/reforms-to-empower-house-committees/ |access-date=May 17, 2024 |website=Bipartisan Policy}}</ref>

Important structural changes included the [[direct popular election]] of senators according to the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Seventeenth Amendment]],<ref name="tws2010Sep11t14dd5">{{cite news |author= David E. Kyvig |editor= Julian E. Zelizer |title= The American Congress: The Building of Democracy |publisher= Houghton Mifflin Company |page= 362 |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-618-17906-2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC&q=Zelizer+Julian+2004+American+Congress+The+Building+of+Democracy |access-date= September 11, 2010 |archive-date= October 19, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171019131704/https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC |url-status= live }}</ref> ratified on April 8, 1913. [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] decisions based on the Constitution's [[commerce clause]] expanded congressional power to regulate the economy.<ref>{{cite news |author1 = David B. Rivkin Jr. |author2 = Lee A. Casey |name-list-style = amp |title = Illegal Health Reform |newspaper = The Washington Post |date = August 22, 2009 |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082103033.html |access-date = September 28, 2009 |archive-date = October 29, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201029095959/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082103033.html |url-status = live }}</ref> One effect of popular election of senators was to reduce the difference between the House and Senate in terms of their link to the electorate.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Steven S. Smith |author2=Jason M. Roberts |author3=Ryan J. Vander Wielen |title=The American Congress (Fourth Edition) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=38 |year=2006 |isbn=9781139446990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWpE_HxuxVEC&q=Smith,+Steven+S.,+Jason+M.+Roberts,+and+Ryan+Vander+Wielen+%282007%29.+The+American+Congress |access-date=September 11, 2010 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214332/https://books.google.com/books?id=fWpE_HxuxVEC&q=Smith%2C+Steven+S.%2C+Jason+M.+Roberts%2C+and+Ryan+Vander+Wielen+%282007%29.+The+American+Congress |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lame duck (politics)|Lame duck]] reforms according to the [[Twentieth amendment to the United States Constitution|Twentieth Amendment]] reduced the power of defeated and retiring members of Congress to wield influence despite their lack of accountability.<ref>{{cite news |author= David E. Kyvig |editor= Julian E. Zelizer |title= The American Congress: The Building of Democracy |publisher= Houghton Mifflin Company |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-618-17906-2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC&q=Zelizer+Julian+2004+American+Congress+The+Building+of+Democracy |access-date= September 11, 2010 |archive-date= October 19, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171019131704/https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC |url-status= live }}</ref>

The [[Great Depression]] ushered in President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] and strong control by Democrats<ref>{{cite news|title=The Congress: 72nd Made|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740692,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930090738/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740692,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2008|access-date=October 5, 2010|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=November 17, 1930}}</ref> and historic [[New Deal]] policies. [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]'s election in 1932 marked a shift in government power towards the executive branch. Numerous New Deal initiatives came from the [[White House]] rather initiated by Congress.<ref name="English14">English (2003), p. 14.</ref> President Roosevelt pushed his agenda in Congress by detailing Executive Branch staff to friendly Senate committees (a practice that ended with the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Farley|first=Bill|date=January 25, 2021|title=Blending Powers: Hamilton, FDR, and the Backlash That Shaped Modern Congress|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-policy-history/article/abs/blending-powers-hamilton-fdr-and-the-backlash-that-shaped-modern-congress/AE5E0D3D42A502AFE752F27FEADB176A|journal=Journal of Policy History|language=en|volume=33|issue=1|pages=60–92|doi=10.1017/S089803062000024X|s2cid=231694131|issn=0898-0306|access-date=March 2, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104163011/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-policy-history/article/abs/blending-powers-hamilton-fdr-and-the-backlash-that-shaped-modern-congress/AE5E0D3D42A502AFE752F27FEADB176A|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] controlled both houses of Congress for many years.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Congress: Democratic Senate|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847065,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027073231/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847065,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 27, 2010|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 14, 1932}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Political Notes: Democratic Drift|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,756879,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215094513/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,756879,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 15, 2008|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 16, 1936}}</ref><ref name=1930lop>{{cite news|title=The Congress: The 76th|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760301,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826092956/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760301,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 26, 2010|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 21, 1938}}</ref> During this time, Republicans and conservative southern Democrats<ref>{{cite news|title=The Vice Presidency: Undeclared War|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789486-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429014527/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789486-2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 29, 2011|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=March 20, 1939}}</ref> formed the [[Conservative Coalition]].<ref name=1930lop/><ref>{{cite news|title=Congress: New Houses|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849318,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014092712/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849318,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 14, 2010|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 11, 1940}}</ref> Democrats maintained control of Congress during [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Before the G.O.P. Lay a Forked Road|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932828,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014141814/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932828,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 14, 2010|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 16, 1942}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Business & Finance: Turn of the Tide|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932900,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014142602/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932900,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 14, 2010|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 16, 1942}}</ref> Congress struggled with efficiency in the postwar era partly by reducing the number of standing congressional committees.<ref name=tws2010Sep11pp>{{cite news |title=The Congress: Effort toward Efficiency |newspaper=Time |date=May 21, 1965 |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901685,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080220083842/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901685,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= February 20, 2008 |access-date=September 11, 2010}}</ref> Southern Democrats became a powerful force in many influential committees although political power alternated between Republicans and Democrats during these years. More complex issues required greater specialization and expertise, such as space flight and atomic energy policy.<ref name=tws2010Sep11pp/> Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]] exploited the fear of communism during the [[McCarthyism|Second Red Scare]] and conducted televised hearings.<ref>{{cite news|title=National Affairs: Judgments & Prophecies |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,820388-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501130122/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,820388-2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2011|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 15, 1954}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Congress: Ahead of the Wind|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810635,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131165211/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810635,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2011|access-date=October 10, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=November 17, 1958}}</ref> In 1960, Democratic candidate [[John F. Kennedy]] narrowly won the presidency and power shifted again to the Democrats who dominated both chambers of Congress from 1961 to 1980, and retained a consistent majority in the House from 1955 to 1994.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brownstein |first=Ronald |date=June 20, 2023 |title=Why power in Congress is now so precarious {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/20/politics/congress-butterfly-effect-fault-lines/index.html |access-date=May 17, 2024 |website=CNN |language=en |quote=...two decades of unbroken Democratic Senate control from 1961 to 1980 ... Neither side lately has consistently reached the heights that Democrats did while they held unbroken control of the lower chamber from 1955 through 1994 when the party routinely won 250 seats or more.}}</ref>

Congress enacted Johnson's [[Great Society]] program to fight poverty and hunger. The [[Watergate Scandal]] had a powerful effect of waking up a somewhat dormant Congress which investigated presidential wrongdoing and coverups; the scandal "substantially reshaped" relations between the branches of government, suggested political scientist [[Bruce J. Schulman]].<ref>{{cite news |author= Bruce J. Schulman |editor= Julian E. Zelizer |title= The American Congress: The Building of Democracy |publisher= Houghton Mifflin Company |page= 638 |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-618-17906-2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC&q=Zelizer+Julian+2004+American+Congress+The+Building+of+Democracy |access-date= September 11, 2010 |archive-date= October 19, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171019131704/https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC |url-status= live }}</ref> Partisanship returned, particularly after 1994; one analyst attributes partisan infighting to slim congressional majorities which discouraged friendly social gatherings in meeting rooms such as the ''Board of Education''.<ref name=tws2010Sep11t14dd4/> Congress began reasserting its authority.<ref name="English14"/><ref>{{cite news|title=The House: New Faces and New Strains |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945101,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222061724/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945101,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 22, 2008 |newspaper=Time |date=November 18, 1974}}</ref> [[Lobbying in the United States|Lobbying]] became a big factor despite the 1971 [[Federal Election Campaign Act]]. [[Political action committee]]s or PACs could make substantive donations to congressional candidates via such means as ''[[Soft Money|soft money]]'' contributions.<ref name=tws2010Sep11jggha>{{cite news |author1=Steven S. Smith |author2=Jason M. Roberts |author3=Ryan J. Vander Wielen |title=The American Congress (Fourth Edition) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=58 |year=2006 |isbn=9781139446990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWpE_HxuxVEC&q=Smith,+Steven+S.,+Jason+M.+Roberts,+and+Ryan+Vander+Wielen+%282007%29.+The+American+Congress |access-date=September 11, 2010 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214339/https://books.google.com/books?id=fWpE_HxuxVEC&q=Smith%2C+Steven+S.%2C+Jason+M.+Roberts%2C+and+Ryan+Vander+Wielen+%282007%29.+The+American+Congress |url-status=live }}</ref> While soft money funds were not given to specific campaigns for candidates, the money often benefited candidates substantially in an indirect way and helped reelect candidates.<ref name=tws2010Sep11jggha/> Reforms such as the 2002 [[Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act]] limited campaign donations but did not limit ''soft money'' contributions.<ref>{{cite news |author= Nick Anderson |title= Political Attack Ads Already Popping Up on the Web |newspaper= Los Angeles Times |date= March 30, 2004 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-mar-30-na-online30-story.html |access-date= September 30, 2009 |archive-date= January 14, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214342/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-mar-30-na-online30-story.html |url-status= live }}</ref> One source suggests post-Watergate laws amended in 1974 meant to reduce the "influence of wealthy contributors and end payoffs" instead "legitimized PACs" since they "enabled individuals to band together in support of candidates".<ref name=tws02oct201>{{cite news |author1=Susan Tifft |author2=Richard Homik |author3=Hays Corey |title = Taking an Ax to the PACs|newspaper = Time|date = August 20, 1984|url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954335,00.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101029151705/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954335,00.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = October 29, 2010|access-date =October 2, 2009}}</ref>

From 1974 to 1984, PACs grew from 608 to 3,803 and donations leaped from $12.5{{spaces}}million to $120{{spaces}}million<ref name="tws02oct201"/><ref name=tws02oct223>{{cite news|last = Clymer|first = Adam|title = Campaign spending in congress races soars to new high|newspaper = The New York Times|date = October 29, 1992|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/29/us/campaign-spending-in-congress-races-soars-to-new-high.html|access-date = October 2, 2009|archive-date = January 14, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214343/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/29/us/campaign-spending-in-congress-races-soars-to-new-high.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name=tws01oct22>{{cite news|author = Jeffrey H. Birnbaum|title = Cost of Congressional Campaigns Skyrockets|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = October 3, 2004|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2935-2004Oct2.html|access-date = October 1, 2009|archive-date = January 14, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214408/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2935-2004Oct2.html|url-status = live}}</ref> along with concern over PAC influence in Congress.<ref name=tws02oct205>{{cite news|author = Richard E. Cohen|title = PAC Paranoia: Congress Faces Campaign Spending – Politics: Hysteria was the operative word when legislators realized they could not return home without tougher campaign finance laws.|newspaper = Los Angeles Times|date = August 12, 1990|url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-12-op-739-story.html|access-date = October 2, 2009|archive-date = January 14, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214344/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-12-op-739-story.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author1 = Walter Isaacson|author2= Evan Thomas |author3=other bureaus|title = Running with the PACs|newspaper = Time| date = October 25, 1982| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953584-2,00.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110429013742/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953584-2,00.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = April 29, 2011| access-date =October 2, 2009}}</ref> In 2009, there were 4,600 business, labor and special-interest PACs<ref name=tws02oct209>{{cite news| author = John Fritze| title = PACs spent record $416M on federal election| newspaper = USA Today| date = March 2, 2009| url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-03-01-pacmoney_N.htm| access-date = October 2, 2009| archive-date = January 14, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214343/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-03-01-pacmoney_N.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> including ones for [[Association of Trial Lawyers of America|lawyers]], [[International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers|electricians]], and [[National Association of Realtors|real estate brokers]].<ref>{{cite news| author = Thomas Frank| title = Beer PAC aims to put Congress under influence| newspaper = USA TODAY| date = October 29, 2006| url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-29-beer-lobby_x.htm| access-date = October 2, 2009| archive-date = January 14, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214429/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-29-beer-lobby_x.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> From 2007 to 2008, 175 members of Congress received "half or more of their campaign cash" from PACs.<ref name="tws02oct209"/><ref>{{cite news| author1 = Michael Isikoff| author2 = Dina Fine Maron| name-list-style = amp| title = Congress – Follow the Bailout Cash| newspaper = Newsweek| date = March 21, 2009| url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/190363| access-date = October 2, 2009| archive-date = January 14, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214528/https://www.newsweek.com/tarp-funds-get-recycled-political-contributions-75963| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| author = Richard L. Berke| title = Campaign Finance; Problems in the PAC's: Study Finds Frustration| newspaper = The New York Times| date = February 14, 1988| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/us/campaign-finance-problems-in-the-pac-s-study-finds-frustration.html| access-date = October 2, 2009| archive-date = January 14, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214346/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/us/campaign-finance-problems-in-the-pac-s-study-finds-frustration.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

From 1970 to 2009, the House expanded delegates, along with their powers and privileges representing U.S. citizens in non-state areas, beginning with representation on committees for [[Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico's resident commissioner]] in 1970. In 1971, a delegate for the District of Columbia was authorized, and in 1972 new delegate positions were established for [[United States Virgin Islands's at-large congressional district|U.S. Virgin Islands]] and [[Guam's at-large congressional district|Guam]]. In 1978, an additional delegate for [[American Samoa's at-large congressional district|American Samoa]] were added.

In the late 20th century, the media became more important in Congress's work.<ref name=tws2010Sep11t14dd1>{{cite news |editor= Julian E. Zelizer |author= Michael Schudson |title= The American Congress: The Building of Democracy |publisher= Houghton Mifflin Company |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-618-17906-2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC&q=Zelizer+Julian+2004+American+Congress+The+Building+of+Democracy |access-date= September 11, 2010 |archive-date= October 19, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171019131704/https://books.google.com/books?id=_MGEIIwT5pUC |url-status= live }}</ref> Analyst [[Michael Schudson]] suggested that greater publicity undermined the power of political parties and caused "more roads to open up in Congress for individual representatives to influence decisions".<ref name=tws2010Sep11t14dd1 /> [[Norman Ornstein]] suggested that media prominence led to a greater emphasis on the negative and sensational side of Congress, and referred to this as the ''[[tabloidization]]'' of media coverage.<ref name=tws2010Sep11t14cc/> Others saw pressure to squeeze a political position into a thirty-second soundbite.<ref>{{cite news |author1= Steven S. Smith |author2= Jason M. Roberts |author3= Ryan J. Vander Wielen |title= The American Congress (Fourth Edition) |publisher= Cambridge University Press |page= 12 |year= 2006 |isbn= 9781139446990 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fWpE_HxuxVEC&q=Smith,+Steven+S.,+Jason+M.+Roberts,+and+Ryan+Vander+Wielen+%282007%29.+The+American+Congress |access-date= September 11, 2010 |archive-date= January 14, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214429/https://books.google.com/books?id=fWpE_HxuxVEC&q=Smith%2C+Steven+S.%2C+Jason+M.+Roberts%2C+and+Ryan+Vander+Wielen+%282007%29.+The+American+Congress |url-status= live }}</ref> A report characterized Congress in 2013 as unproductive, gridlocked, and "setting records for futility".<ref>Mark Murray, NBC News, June 30, 2013, [http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/30/19206400-unproductive-congress-how-stalemates-became-the-norm-in-washington-dc?lite Unproductive Congress: How stalemates became the norm in Washington DC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214346/https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press?lite |date=January 14, 2021 }}. Retrieved June 30, 2013.</ref> In October 2013, with Congress unable to compromise, the government was shut down for several weeks and risked a serious default on debt payments, causing 60% of the public to say they would "fire every member of Congress" including their own representative.<ref>Domenico Montanaro, NBC News, October 10, 2013, [http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/10/20903531-nbcwsj-poll-60-percent-say-fire-every-member-of-congress?lite NBC/WSJ poll: 60 percent say fire every member of Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214447/https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press?lite |date=January 14, 2021 }}. Retrieved October 10, 2013, "...{{spaces}}60 percent of Americans{{spaces}}... if they had the chance to vote to defeat and replace every single member of Congress{{spaces}}... they would{{spaces}}..."</ref> One report suggested Congress posed the "biggest risk to the U.S. economy" because of its [[Brinkmanship|brinksmanship]], "down-to-the-wire budget and debt crises" and "indiscriminate spending cuts", resulting in slowed economic activity and keeping up to two million people unemployed.<ref>Andy Sullivan of Reuters, NBC News, October 17, 2013, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:ListFiles/Tomwsulcer&ilshowall=1 Washington: the biggest risk to U.S. economy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214352/https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AListFiles%2FTomwsulcer&ilshowall=1 |date=January 14, 2021 }}. Retrieved October 18, 2013, "...{{spaces}}the biggest risk to the world's largest economy may be its own elected representatives{{spaces}}... Down-to-the-wire budget and debt crises, indiscriminate spending cuts and a 16-day government shutdown{{spaces}}..."</ref> There has been increasing public dissatisfaction with Congress,<ref>Domenico Montanaro, NBC News, October 10, 2013, [http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/10/20903531-nbcwsj-poll-60-percent-say-fire-every-member-of-congress?lite NBC/WSJ poll: 60 percent say fire every member of Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214353/https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press?lite |date=January 14, 2021 }}. Retrieved October 10, 2013, "...{{spaces}}60 percent of Americans{{spaces}}... saying if they had the chance to vote to defeat and replace every single member of Congress, including their own representative, they would{{spaces}}..."</ref> with extremely low approval ratings<ref name="blogs.wsj.com">Wall Street Journal, [https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/21/approval-of-congress-matches-all-time-low/ Approval of Congress Matches All-Time Low] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214433/https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/21/approval-of-congress-matches-all-time-low/ |date=January 14, 2021 }}. Retrieved June 13, 2013.</ref><ref name="firstread.nbcnews.com">Carrie Dann, NBC News, [http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18940080-poll-americans-faith-in-congress-lower-than-all-major-institutions-ever?litePoll: Americans' faith in Congress lower than all major institutions{{snd}}ever] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214356/https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press?litePoll: |date=January 14, 2021 }}. Retrieved June 13, 2013.</ref> which dropped to 5% in October 2013.<ref name=voa5congress/>