Unsticking Congress: Maya Kornberg

In this episode of Future Hindsight, host Mila Atmos speaks with Maya Kornberg, Senior Research Fellow at NYU Law's Brennan Center for Justice and author of *Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress*. Kornberg dissects the systemic forces that have paralyzed Congress—money, media, and the rising threat of political violence—arguing that these factors have created a self-inflicted crisis of institutional capacity and democratic legitimacy. She traces the evolution of Congress through three pivotal 'wave' classes: the Watergate Babies of 1974, the Contract with America Republicans of 1994, and the 2018 blue wave, each representing moments when new members reshaped the institution, only to see reforms erode over time. The episode reveals how the 1976 *Buckley v. Valeo* decision unleashed a flood of money into politics, enabling the rise of 'leadership packs' that turned internal fundraising into a currency of power, while the 1994 defunding of key congressional support agencies like the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) crippled Congress’s ability to understand complex issues like science and technology. Today, Congress suffers from chronic under-staffing, outdated committee structures, and a culture of fear that deters civic engagement and constrains conscience-driven voting. Kornberg calls for bold institutional reforms—expanding the House, lifting staff caps, restoring nonpartisan expertise, and ending Citizens United—as essential to reinvigorating Congress as a co-equal branch of government. She concludes with a powerful message: democracy is not a spectator sport, and the path forward lies in sustained civic engagement, even when the system feels broken. The episode underscores that real change doesn’t come from waiting for a perfect moment, but from building momentum through persistent action. Kornberg emphasizes that the most impactful reforms—like campaign finance reform and expanding representation—are not impossible, but require collective will. She challenges the idea that new members automatically bring change, stressing that without structural support, they are trapped in a system of fundraising, fear, and hierarchy. The Civic Spark urges listeners to show up—call representatives, attend town halls, demand reform—not as a one-off act, but as a daily commitment to democratic participation. Ultimately, the episode is a call to action: to unstick Congress, we must first unstick ourselves from apathy and re-engage with the institutions that shape our lives.