|
|
|
|
|
IU's Center on Congress produces TV programs for young people about the role of Congress
Feb. 8, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Center on Congress at Indiana University has inaugurated its new series of television programs for young people on the U.S. Congress, in partnership with the Close Up Foundation.
The first program in the series, "The Role of Congress," featured Robert Dole, former Kansas senator, Senate majority leader and presidential nominee, and Lee Hamilton, the center's director and former U.S. representative from Indiana. The next program in the series will air on C-SPAN cable television network at 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 18, featuring a discussion about the impact of congressional action on the daily life of the average citizen. The program will be re-aired later on either C-SPAN or C-SPAN2.
The first program in the series aired on C-SPAN on Jan. 21 and was re-aired on the following Monday and Wednesday. In addition to reaching a national television audience on C-SPAN, the "Close-Up on C-SPAN" programs are taped for use in the classroom by high school teachers across the country.
In the first program in the series, the two veteran legislators spoke about the role of Congress in today's society and about the need for members of Congress to put aside partisan differences to get things done. "I'm a Republican and Lee's a Democrat, but we respect each other," Dole said. "I served in Congress 35 years; he served 34. Nothing gets done unless you have people in both parties willing to work together for the common good. That's what we're really sent here to do."
Asked about his observations when looking back at his career in Congress, Hamilton told the student audience, "What always impressed me is how rapidly issues come at you. People don't fully understand the complexity of the job. If you sit down and list the 10 toughest issues in America in your judgment, I can almost guarantee you that the Congress will vote on them in the next six months."
Included in the goals for this series is a well-rounded and complete picture of the Congress, not just its positive aspects.
When asked about the supervisory role Congress plays in oversight of the executive branch, Hamilton said, "I have an uneasy feeling that Congress doesn't do as good a job as it should on oversight, but I believe the role of Congress is to look into every nook and cranny of the federal government and to make sure the laws are working as they should and are carried out without corruption or abuse."
"We pass these laws, say in 1975, and then no one looks at them for 25 years," Dole added. "Oversight is an important function, but so many other priorities seem to get in the way of it."
The Center on Congress was created by IU in 1999 to help improve the public's understanding of Congress and to improve civic engagement, especially among young people, as a way to strengthen our basic institutions of government. The center is non-partisan and its goal is purely educational -- to explain the work and role of Congress.
It presents information on Congress in a variety of ways, including through newspaper op-eds, Web site materials, radio commentaries, teaching materials, and videos and CD-ROMs for students. Its unique mission among research centers is explaining Congress to the average citizen. More information about the center is available at its Web site at http://congress.indiana.edu
The Close Up Foundation, based in Alexandria, Va., is the nation's largest non-profit, nonpartisan, citizenship education organization. Since its founding in 1970, Close Up has worked to promote responsible and informed participation in the democratic process through a variety of educational programs. For example, it regularly arranges for students and teachers nationwide to come to Washington in order to see government in action.
(George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu or Debbie Still, 812-856-4706, dstill@indiana.edu)