Event Summary
In a recent CNN/Opinion Research survey, 86 percent of Americans said they believe the federal government is “broken.” In the last year, governance challenges complicated the nation’s capacity to address issues such as the economy, health care, climate change and financial regulation. As obstacles to governance continue to mount, what reforms need to be implemented to ensure that the United States is equipped to face its short- and long-term policy challenges? Is government broken? And if so, how do we fix it?
Event Information
When
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Where
Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
On June 1, the Brookings Institution, Demos, AmericaSpeaks, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University and Everyday Democracy hosted a forum to explore current challenges to good governance and to discuss ways of creating and strengthening a strong, vibrant and inclusive democracy, focusing mainly on proposed solutions to reform our governance, election and campaign finance systems. The first panel focused on how electoral and campaign finance systems can be reformed. The second discussion centered on improving institutional performance, administrative infrastructure and governance processes to better address the nation’s most pressing policy problems.
After each panel, speakers took questions from the audience.
Transcript
DARRELL WEST: I’m Darrell West. I’m vice president and director of Governance Studies here at the Brookings Institution. And it is my pleasure to welcome you to this forum on “Is Government Broken? Strengthening Democracy Through Election and Governance Reforms.”
A recent CNN opinion research survey found that 86 percent of Americans said they believe the federal government is broken. And when you look at things that have happened, it’s no wonder they feel that way. In the last year we have faced a series of governance challenges that have complicated our nation’s capacity to address issues such as the economy, health care, climate change, and financial regulation. And our difficulties in confronting many of these many problems has led many to question whether it is possible for the United States to face its short- and long-term policy challenges.
Today we are going to focus on two parts of the problem: the electoral and campaign finance aspects of the issue, as well as the governance issues involved with that. In both of the panels we’re going to look at the nature of the problem and some of the reforms that our panelists believe will contribute to our problem-solving capabilities. There are many people who are cynical about electoral and governance reforms. They believe our system is broken and that it always is going to be dysfunctional. But today we’re going to hear from a variety of speakers who will put specific ideas on the table for improving our institutional capacity. And at the conclusion of those panels, Carolyn Lukensmeyer, the president of AmericaSpeaks and my colleague, E.J. Dionne, will explain what they think needs to happen in order to improve the performance of our political system.
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Participants
Welcome and Introductory Remarks
Miles Rapoport
President, Demos
Vice President and Director, Governance Studies
Norm Eisen
Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, The White House
Panel on Election and Campaign Finance Reform
Jon Greenbaum
Legal Director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law
Eddie Hailes
Managing Director and General Counsel, Advancement Project
Clarissa Martinez De Castro
Director, Immigration and National Campaigns, National Council of La Raza
Nick Nyhart
President and CEO, Public Campaign
Moderator: Karen Hobert Flynn
Vice President for State Operations, Common Cause
Panel on Governance Reform
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies
Martha McCoy
Executive Director, Everyday Democracy
Gary Bass
Executive Director, OMB Watch
Moderator: Archon Fung
Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship, Harvard Kennedy School
Closing Remarks
Carolyn Lukensmeyer
President, AmericaSpeaks
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies