Drawing upon his 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Lee Hamilton writes a bi-weekly column on Congress — sometimes explaining why Congress works the way it does or explaining its impact, other times suggesting ways Congress could be improved or reformed.

2008

• To Govern Well, Return to the Basics
• A Disastrous Budget Process
• How Do We Reduce Partisanship?
• Build Consensus Even When It's Hard
• The Political Skill We Need Most
• Rebuilding Congress
• How to Understand Congress
• What We Owe Our Young People
• You Need to Understand Lobbying
• Congress Should Fix Its Budget Habits
• Look for Candidates Who Respect the Congress
• Young Must Learn How Democracy Works
• Politicians Neet to Find A Balance

2007

• Congress Must Assert Itself
• Why Politics is So Partisan
• Why Not Try Genuine Consultation
• The Path to Good Citizenship
• Debate Is Good For Our System
• This Is A Good Time To Talk To Politicians
• Some Kind Words for Politicians
• Why Isn't Congress More Efficient
• We Need Candidates With Good Judgment
• Why is Congress So Partisan?
• A Good Office Can Breed Congressional Success
• Shaping Policy is Hard Work
• Our Future Depends on Improving the Public Dialogue
• There's Still Much Room For Improvement In Congress
• Citizenship is Hard Work
• What Politics Should Be About
• For Good or Ill, Congress Needs Time to Do Its Work
• Our Leaders Must Find A Balance on Iraq
• Members of Congress Should Vote Their Consciences More Often
• Why Things Get Complicated In Congress
• In Congress, Courtesy Matters
• To Reform Congress, Shine A Light On It
• We Urgently Need to Fix Our Voting System

2006

• Congressional Debates Need Facts, Not Spin
• It's Now or Never for Ethics Reform
• When The Voters Take Charge
• Is Congress Truly Representative?
• Spotlight On A Congress In Institutional Crisis
• How To Run For Congress
• Congressional Hearings Are Too Often About Spin
• Facing Public's Many Pleas, Congress Must be Pragmatic
• How to Talk to Your Member of Congress
• Why You Need to Know What Congress is Doing
• Compromise Keeps Our System Running
• Congress Should Use Its Muscles
• What Will It Take to Improve the Dialogue of Democracy?
• Depressed About Our Country? Don't Be.
• Had Enough Gimmickry? Demand Fiscal Truth
• Wouldn't It Be Nice If Congress Showed Up For Work?
• Why Does Congress Want To Give Up Power?
• What It Means When You Take That Oath of Office
• We Pay A High Price for Special-Interest Lobbying
• Three Fixes for American Democracy
• True Lobbying Reform
• The Press is Good, But Not Good Enough
• Is This The Congress We Want?

2005

• We Can't Wait Much Longer to Fix Congress
• More Want More from Congress
• Who Lobbies for the Rest of Us?
• It's Hard to Write Laws
• Citizens Can Be Powerful Lobbyists, Too
• Be Thankful the House and Senate are Different
• Congressional Reform Difficult, but Urgently Needed
• The Cup of Coffee Solution
• We Must Reclaim Our Campaigns
• Remember to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff in Congress
• Whose Team Should a Member of Congress be On?
• It's Time For The Public To Fund Congressional Travel
• Lobbying Murkiness Undermines Our Trust in Congress
• We Urgently Need Redistricting Reform
• Congress Confuses the Public and Itself
• Congress Only Tinkers on the Budget
• Why We Need to Restore Power to Congress
• Congress Needs to Invigorate Its Ethics System, Not Weaken It

2004

• Our Need for Reasoned Conversation
• A Fresh Start for Congress?
• Why Political Virtue Matters
• Congress Depends on Civility
• Broken Budget Process
• Why Must Congress Learn To Look Ahead
• Oversight At Last
• It's Time For a Robust Ethics Process
• Why Congress Needs to Assert Itself
• Broken Oversight
• Congress Shouldn't Just be About Winning
• States' Rights? Depends on Where You Stand

2003

• Why Should We Care About the Media?
• Why We Need an Informed Citizenry
• The Merits of Civic Engagement
• Has Direct Democracy Gone Too Far?
• Congress Needs Deliberative Process
• Making a Difference
• The Sovereignty of the American People
• Is Congress Trustworthy?
• Why Do We Need Compromise?
• Congressional Bickering
• Why Federalism Works
• Congress And Individual Liberties
• Democracy Relies on Good Dialogue

2002

• A Balanced View of Congress
• The Importance of Good Process
• The Cornerstones of Active Citizenship
• The Money Chase
• Keep in Touch
• Tackling the Tough Issues
• The Roots of Our Success
• Congress and Your Daily Life
• Is the Congress out of Touch?
• Congress and Lobbyists
• Influential Members of Congress
• Congress and the President
• Power in Congress

2001

• Why the President Needs the Help of Congress to Make Foreign Policy
• Congress and the Power of the Purse
• How Members of Congress Vote
• Congress and the Common Good
• The Job of a Congressman
• Can the People Govern?
• The Frustrations of Congress
• Congress and the Pork Barrel
• Balancing Powers in Government
• Why Congress Exists
• Making Your Views Known to Congress
• The Impact of Congress
• The Rewards of Public Service

2000

• Non-Competitive Election for Congress
• Knitting Congress and the White House Together
• Vote for Democracy
• Make a Difference in Congress
• Congressional Ethics is Not an Oxymoron
• Congress Does More Work than Meets the Eye
• Why Can't Congress Act?
• Thinking About the Future
• True Congressional Oversight
• What Makes a Good Politician
• Retail Politics for the Rest of Us
• How a Bill Really Becomes Law
• Why Politicians Are Good for Your Country's Health

1999

• Judging Congress by the Results
• Learning to be a Special Interest
• Congress Must Battle to Bring Us Together
• Congress and the Fabric of Our Lives
• Congress' Self-Correcting Mechanism
• A Failure to Communicate