Second , accountability in government must return . Accountability means reforming Congress and bringing it into the 21 st century by reducing , streamlining and modernizing its committee system and procedures . For both branches , a Sarbanes - Oxley type of law is essential . Sarbanes - Oxley was passed in the wake of major corporate scandals . In Congress , for example , where virtually no one reads a bill before it is passed , members would be required to certify that they have read and understood the legislation on which they are voting . For the executive branch , senior officials would certify that the figures submitted in proposed legislation were accurate and if later proved erroneous by a large threshold , the law would be automatically revoked .