Issues

PLEASE READ FOUR SENTENCES BEFORE YOUR EYES GLAZE OVER

Before you fall asleep, give me four sentences. 1) We all want government to invest in policies and projects and programs that will return more benefits than they cost. 2) I've never heard my opponents mention return on investment or benefit-cost ratios in their speeches or materials. 3) I think we should be basing many government decisions on this and other important metrics, including effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and equity metrics. 4) I'm the only candidate qualified to do this (over a decade as senior analyst at GAO, the investigative and consulting arm of Congress). In fact, I'm the only candidate who seems to care about it. So if I were you, I'd vote for me.

HERE'S WHAT I'LL BE DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION AND LIVING YOUR LIFE

Yeah, it's wonky, but we all do this every day, and it makes even more sense for government to do it systematically. You don't have to pay attention to the details, but I will. I've studied it, did it at the US GAO, advised Congress, and taught grad students policy design, policy evaluation, statistics, and many other topics. I will do it for you because to me, that's what it takes to do the job well.

My opponents in this race have little experience in studying and really understanding public policy. I've been doing it for 43 years - 22 in Congress and 21 years teaching it in academics. I'm serious about it and using my experience and knowledge to make your life and the 7th district better, safer, healthier, more productive, and more prosperous. With greater economic and educational opportunities for everyone.

OK, that's the standard campaign bullshit. It's good to have priorities, even if they're one word and even if they go no deeper than that. But if you want your representative to actually deliver, or more often help deliver these things, they really have to know the system. They really have to know how policies work, what research says about what makes them work, what agency or agencies have the staff and expertise and organizational structure and leadership to deliver after Congress finally passes a bill and the president signs it in the rose garden (now a Trumpy concrete patio).

Then the most difficult part starts - implementation. This is where policies often break down, don't work as planned, where events and surprises keep them from working unless they were designed well from the start. Then Congress may fix them if the vote wasn't close, and if Congress knows how to fix the policy.

I've studied policies while in Congress for 22 years, and I admit that at first I really had no idea how successful policies differed from failures, or how to actually get a good bill passed with 535 negotiators trying to derail it. But I paid attention, went to Georgetown to get a Masters in Public Policy at night, got my PhD, am now teaching at the #1 ranked graduate program in the US, got obsessed with how and why policies work, and now I'm writing a book on it. I've always thought that everyone would be interested in this, but who has the time and energy to study it (besides me). Voters don't. Legislators don't. The Courts don't - especially the Supreme Court. But lobbyists do - they're often ex-members of Congress.

ANY CONGRESSMAN CAN PRESS BUTTONS, WRITE PRESS RELEASES, & RAISE MONEY

You can elect someone to go to the floor of the House, sit down, and vote YEA, NAY, or PRESENT, and hope they make good choices. Then they can claim credit and spend the day raising money. I won't be spending 7 hours a day - a normal day for most members - raising money. I'll be working on more legislation that will help you and the 7th district.

OR WORK BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE REPRESENTED ALL DAY, EVERY DAY

Or, you can elect someone who has studied, participated, and taught legislators for decades, and who understands everything that comes before and after pressing the button. Someone who does the work to study, understand, and take the actions to make sure the YEA policy actually helps you and the 7th district, and isn't just a Congressional spectator able to see just the tip of the legislative iceberg.