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| Preface | |
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| Why We Need to Restore Power to Congress | |
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| The Intent of the Founders | |
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| Ceding Responsibilities to the President | |
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| Why Does Congress Want to Give up Power? | |
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| What it Means when You Take That Oath of Office | |
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| A Stronger Voice | |
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| Congress Should Do More than Tinker with the Budget | |
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| The Decision to Go to War | |
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| Initiating Policy | |
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| Understanding Congress | |
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| Strengthening Congressional Oversight | |
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| Broken Oversight | |
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| Every Administration Needs Oversight | |
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| Oversight Needs to Be Systematic | |
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| Restoring the Deliberative Process | |
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| Why Congress Needs the Deliberative Process | |
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| Omnibus Bills | |
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| Congressional Debates Need Facts, Not Spin | |
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| Why Congress Isn't Efficient, and Shouldn't Be | |
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| Congress Should Not Be Just about Winning | |
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| To Govern Well, Return to the Basics | |
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| Reducing Excessive Partisanship | |
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| Congress Depends on Civility | |
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| Why Is Congress So Partisan? | |
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| Why Holding the Majority Matters | |
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| How Do We Reduce Partisanship? | |
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| Strengthening Ethics Enforcement | |
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| Congress Needs to Invigorate Its Ethics System, Not Weaken It | |
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| Why Ethics Should Matter to Congress | |
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| Getting Outside Help | |
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| Curbing the Influence of Lobbyists | |
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| We Pay a Price for Special-Interest Lobbying | |
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| Lobbying Murkiness Undermines Our Trust in Congress | |
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| True Lobbying Reform | |
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| In the End, Responsibility Lies with Politicians and the Voters | |
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| Strengthening Citizen Participation | |
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| Are the People Prepared? | |
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| First, We Need an Informed Citizenry | |
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| We Also Need a Citizenry That Looks for Candidates Who Respect Congress | |
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| Why Political Virtue Matters | |
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| The Ten Commandments of Good Citizenship | |
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| A Well-Functioning Congress | |
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| It Will Search for Remedy | |
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| It Will Look Ahead | |
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| It Will Help to Set the Agenda | |
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| It Will Give Voice to a Diverse People | |
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| It Will Forge Consensus | |
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| It Will Exercise Judgment | |
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| It Will Be Led Responsibly | |
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| It Will Engage in Genuine Consultation | |
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| It Will Seek the Common Good | |
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| How to Judge Congress | |
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| Analyzing Congressional Arguments | |
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| Twelve ways to contact your Member of Congress | |
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| Making your case Effectively: Some Do's and Don'ts | |
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| Notes | |
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| Index | |