There is always something to complain about in Washington, but occasionally an opportunity arises to change something in a positive way. Just as some resolve to quit smoking at New Year’s and others to lose weight, so Congress should resolve to fix what the U.S. government is doing wrong; (losing weight would be a pretty good idea for the feds).
Here are a few of the big changes that Congress should tackle in 2016:
Visa reforms: Despite legitimate concern over the screening of refugees, the process for investigating them before admission to the country is far more stringent than anything in place for tourists, workers and immigrants coming in on other types of visa. Among those who have exploited this is Tashfeen Malik, architect of the Islamic State-inspired San Bernardino massacre, who came over on a sloppily-investigated fiancee visa.
There is ample support in Congress for strengthening the process, and even President Obama has acknowledged there is a problem. They must all follow through, strengthen the system, and demand that the State and Homeland Security departments re-examine visas issued recently to people originating in, or with extensive travel to, nations that are hotbeds of Islamic terrorism.
Genocide recognition: A resolution recognizing that the Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians is circulating in Congress and already has a large number of co-sponsors.
It is important for Congress to put pressure on President Obama to recognize the genocide of both Christians and Yazidis, as his State Department seems to be hesitating. This would clear the way toward accepting more endangered Syrian and Iraqi Christians for resettlement. Current policy unintentionally discriminates against them because, fearing for their safety, they tend to avoid settling in the UN camps from which the U.S. draws refugees for resettlement.
Workers’ rights: Many workers today belong to unions because of inertia, not because they want to be. They might be stuck paying dues to a union because a workers who retired voted to unionize in 1955, or some other date in the dim and distant past. More than 90 percent of unionized workers today never had the opportunity to vote for the union themselves.
The Employee Rights Act would change this, improving union democracy by guaranteeing a secret-ballot vote for workers and giving them a regularly scheduled automatic opportunity to choose whether to keep their union, choose another, or dispense with big labor’s “services” altogether. The bill would also criminalize union violence and reduce opportunities for harassment of workers.
Property rights: Some states have begun to reform civil asset forfeiture, limiting the circumstances under which local law enforcement agencies can seize property. But in some cases, law enforcement circumvents these laws by involving the feds in a joint task force. The Justice Department then shares the spoils back through what is known as the equitable sharing program.
Fortunately, DOJ suspended that program just before Christmas because Congress cut its budget. Congress should go further, limiting the sharing program permanently to criminal forfeitures, where the defendant must first be convicted. This would clarify for an overreaching executive branch that the Fifth Amendment prohibition on deprivation of property without due process still applies.
Tax reform: No one is optimistic about this one at the moment, at least not for 2016. But it isn’t impossible.
In December, Congress made 21 of the 55 quasi-permanent tax extenders truly permanent. One effect of this is that a big, revenue-neutral tax reform bill is $500 billion closer to reality. It trades the closure of loopholes and deductions for permanently lower tax rates, all without increasing taxes.
Even if President Obama proves uncooperative, Congress can bring forward a bill this year as a template for future efforts. And who knows? Obama, a lame duck in search of a legacy might even go along with it.
It’s a new year, a time for Congress to try a few new things and resolve to tackle issues it has been avoiding. We hope members will take a hard look at all of these proposals, among others, and turn 2016 into a year of positive reform.
