Another campaign promise is that in my first 100 days as Senator, I will work to increase the overall intelligence level of the US Congress. This can be considered a jibe at the current intelligence level of congressmen and women, but it really is a serious exhortation. And an incredible opportunity for advancement. Look at Google and what search engines have done to our overall cultural intelligence. Then, why is it so difficult to understand the workings of our Government?

I was searching in Google about the oil crisis of the 1970s. I was in my early teens back then, but I remember that it was an important milestone in our history. I found a lot of readable history at the US Foreign Relations history website. And I found this depressing notice:

In my first 100 days, I will work to provide the historian adequate resources to continue doing history. Did U.S. history end in 2016?

If I want to find a piece of legislation, I can do a simple Google search. For example, suppose I am interested in the bill “Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act”. And I easily find text of Senate bill and find a related House bill text of house bill H.R.1865 – Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017

This is a simple case, that shows the power of the internet to show legislation to the public, to the people. But we can do better. And part of my job will be learn how to be a “power user” of these systems, and to see if we can make them easier to use, and more powerful for the people.