Issue 2013: Still Waiting for Washington

by Keerti Hariharan

Congress has had the same set of issues on its table for far too long. Proposals to these prolonged issues need to convert to solutions and quickly because the plethora of issues is only piling up especially given recent events. Foreign policy, health care reform, education reform, and immigration are among the issues at hand that have been prevalent yet negligibly dealt with, it seems, for too long. And it seems that now more than ever the country is pressing Washington to become proactive and solve these matters, especially given that more issues. including gun control, are reappearing after being put off for so long.

In terms of foreign policy, Obama has had much to deal with, including an occupation in Iraq, working to withdraw the troops in Afghanistan, addressing certain debts and other tensions with China, coaxing some peace within the Middle East where the Arab Spring has been prevalent. These are only a few issues that must be taken care of, and it seems that the only real sign of progress has been the death of Osama bin Laden. Although I understand perfectly that foreign policy will always be a concern for Congress, certain aspects such as withdrawing troops from Afghanistan need to be expedited. I definitely think that Afghanistan and China should be the main concerns of Washington as this presently tense relationship with China is damaging to our nation. Certain issues such as the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, I believe can be put off, while more present matters are dealt with, such as China and Afghanistan.

In addition to foreign policy, I think that Washington needs to start making some real decisions towards ameliorating guns, especially given the Newtown Shootings. This is an issue I believe should have been discussed before, but at least Congress is beginning to take another look now. Although I hugely believe that in an ideal world, guns would be completely banned because the act of possessing a gun in the first place makes you a target, it is impractical for me to expect such progressive solutions. I do know that the line of defense posed by many gun advocates: guns don't kill people, people kill people, is a highly flawed statement.  Without guns, it would be much more difficult to kill. If it were my job, I would advise the government to place national restrictions and limits on guns. Also, I believe that background checks need to become much more thorough to ensure that whomever is being given a gun license is cautious and mentally stable as are those with whom he would live with. Ultimately, it is too easy to obtain guns and the government needs to comprehend the seriousness of the matter and become proactive about it.

Economic issues seem to be the leading issue in Washington given unemployment rates, taxes, and the federal government's staggering $14 trillion debt. Here is where the partisan gridlock seems to be the most popular, thus hindering the nation's economic recovery and a visible decrease in unemployment rates. Washington needs to expedite the job-creating process because although we have seen progress, recovery is still too slow in the job market. The president needs to boost jobs in the public sector. When the president took office in 2008, one way he began to create jobs was negotiating with the Indian government to outsource and hire Americans. Indian IT firms helped to broaden hiring in the U.S., and I think that continuing similar trends would hugely benefit our struggling citizens.

With so many issues, the government needs to learn to compromise. America has always been about compromise and Washington needs to exhibit this characteristic too. The partisan gridlock is causing too much strain and slowing far too many processes that could have been dealt with long ago. I just hope that Washington grows up a little and sees how deep the nation really is in.