Fixing Congress' Broken Appropriations Process Is Worth This Mess

Midway through the third day of the ongoing battle to pick a new speaker of the House, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R–Mont.) made an innocuous but telling point about the state of Congress.

"We have had more discussion and debate over the last three days than I have participated in, on this floor, for the past two years," Rosendale, one of the group of breakaway Republicans who have refused to back Rep. Kevin McCarthy's (R–Calif.) bid to become speaker, pointed out.

The stakes of this week's congressional drama, he argued, are not merely about which House member will hold the ceremonial gavel but about a deeper problem with how Congress functions.

"The process that we use has been dramatically broken," Rosendale explained, lamenting "the consolidation of power into the hands of the speaker and the fortunate few who happen to serve on the Rules Committee, which control every aspect of legislation that travels through this body."