They’ve got time for fundraising, grandstanding, and bickering on cable news — but when it comes to fixing problems Americans actually care about? Radio silence.
Some of these issues have been festering for decades, others are red-alert level urgent.
Either way, Congress keeps punting. Here’s a hard look at the messes they keep dodging while pretending to govern.
Affordable Housing
Rent is sky-high, home prices are out of reach, and housing supply is nowhere close to demand — yet Congress barely lifts a finger. Comprehensive housing reform? Zoning fixes? Federal support for building? Nada. Just more empty talk while Americans get priced out of their own neighborhoods.
Campaign Finance Reform
Citizens United opened the money floodgates, and Congress has done zilch to plug the dam. Dark money pours into elections with no transparency, and lawmakers — surprise! — benefit from it. Every year it gets worse, and every year they act like there’s nothing they can do. There is. They just won’t.
Childcare Costs
Families spend more on childcare than they do on mortgages in some states. Providers are underpaid, centers are closing, and parents are stuck. Congress had a chance to fund nationwide solutions — and let it die. No wonder people are delaying having kids.
Climate Change
We’re watching wildfires torch the West, floods drown the East, and temperatures soar across the country — and still, Congress can’t pass consistent, long-term climate legislation. Half measures, lobbyist-approved loopholes, and political theater are all we get while the planet cooks.
Gun Reform
Another mass shooting, another round of thoughts and prayers. The cycle is exhausting — and deadly. Common sense gun laws like universal background checks have broad bipartisan support among voters, but Congress can’t break the NRA’s chokehold.
Health Care Costs
They campaign on it, promise to fix it, and then do nothing. Premiums are crushing, prescriptions are absurdly priced, and surprise medical bills still sneak in. Congress could rein in Big Pharma and insurers — but they won’t bite the hands that feed them.
Immigration Reform
Decades of dysfunction and zero comprehensive reform. Dreamers hang in limbo. Border policy changes with each new administration. Businesses, families, and actual humans are left navigating a broken system while Congress does… nothing.
Social Security Solvency
The trust fund’s projected to hit a shortfall in less than a decade, but Congress treats it like someone else’s problem. No serious plan, no bipartisan urgency — just more posturing. They’ll wait until the last second, like always.
Student Debt
$1.7 trillion and counting. A generation of Americans saddled with debt, delaying families, homes, and retirement. Congress talks about “fiscal responsibility” while ignoring the financial trap door their own policies created.
Tech Regulation
They’ll rant about social media, AI, and TikTok in hearings — but don’t expect meaningful legislation. Congress is decades behind on understanding tech, let alone regulating it. Meanwhile, your data is bought and sold like candy.
