There is plenty of material to fairly scrutinize Congress about, but there are an overwhelming number of misconceptions about Congress that often serve as the foundation for its negative reviews and corresponding approval ratings (consistently in the teens).  Of course, some of these misconceptions are driven by the policymakers themselves and echoed by press, voters, and third parties. That being said, here are 5 regularly voiced concerns about Congress that are simply not accurate:

The Number of Bills Passed is a Relevant Metric to Gauge Congressional Success:  Every year, many people and the press weigh the success or failure of Congress based on the number of bills have been passed.  This would be like reviewing restaurants based on the number of meals they serve… rather than the quality of meals themselves. Counting the number of bills provides no context to what the bills actually do – are they naming a post office or funding the entire federal government (or something in between)? Do not rely on the number of bills to judge Congress, rely on the importance of the bills that actually pass.     

Bipartisanship Does Not Exist in Congress:  Without question, Congress is at historic levels of partisanship.  However, there continues to be bipartisanship, especially behind the scenes.  Policymakers are working across the political aisle on issues and, of course, many of the bills that passed to protect government funding (and other big topics) were bipartisan. While many policymakers do not work across the aisle, most do and many pieces of legislation reflect that.   

Congress is Too Broken to Get Anything Done:  Is Congress broken?  Yes.  Does it get anything done?  Yes. Congress is actively advancing issues.  Small targeted issues obviously do not get the attention they deserve and what Congress fails at doing is always a more interesting (and viral) story than when they succeed.  Congress has a big agenda for the rest of this year and while they will likely not get to everything, it is likely that significant legislation will move through the process.       

One Congressional Policymaker Has Very Little Power:  This used to be truer decades ago than it is today. Committee chairs and leadership were the center of power in the House and Senate. Today, especially with narrow majorities, every member has a significant amount of influence over legislation and the broader process. Just looking at the 118th Congress, it was not the leadership that controlled the direction of key policies, it was small numbers of aligned policymakers that leveraged the fact that they could determine the direction given the small number of votes needed. Next Congress will have the same dynamic – the individual policymaker (or small group of them) will have outsized impact over both process and policy.

Congress Does Not Have the Expertise Needed on Key Issues:  While there are certainly issues that Congress may not have expertise around, there is a wealth of expertise within Congress – especially among dedicated staff who help lead work on committees, leadership offices, and committees.  Additionally, Congress has more access to data and other experts than, maybe, anyone in the world.  Do they also use those resources?  No.  But Congress as an institution has a significant amount of expertise internally and access to expertise externally (which they often use). 

When it comes to Congress, it may be easy to find areas to criticize, but some of those criticisms misleadingly paint that wrong picture of branch of government that continues to have big impact, important issues to advance, and even some bipartisanship (at times).