One of the greatest dangers our country faces is the failure of the United States Congress to address the serious challenges that confront our nation. Americans want ethical leadership in Congress, with a process that is fair, honest and open. Most members of Congress want this as well.

But it cannot happen until Congress reforms the way it does business. If Congress is to regain the public's trust, it must:

• Change the way legislation is introduced. Current restrictions effectively shut down discussion.

• Eliminate seniority rule, which encourages pandering to big-money interests. A seniority-based pecking order makes many members' participation irrelevant.

• Change the procedure that allows a senator to slow the system by filing an "intent to filibuster," which essentially blocks potential bills from reaching the floor. The historical requirement that senators must physically occupy the floor of the chamber to create a filibuster needs to be reinstated.

• Prohibit Congress from insider trading and IPO purchases. The Senate, House and the Supreme Court are the only three out of
975 federal entities that have no rules or laws prohibiting their members from trading stocks based on nonpublic information. A bill to fix this insult has languished in Congress for years and must be passed.

• Reduce taxpayer-financed benefits for
Congress, such as excessively generous retirement plans and enhanced medical coverage.

• Require immediate transparency of all congressional interaction with special-interest groups.

In addition, ethical political campaign rules need to be established: Overturn the Supreme Court ruling on corporate campaign financing that concluded corporations have the same rights as citizens and, worse, that corporations are to be considered citizens with unlimited anonymous free speech. Passing the Dodd-Udall bill would put in motion a process to amend the Constitution, which would reverse the court's ruling.

• Reinstate the fairness doctrine in news broadcasting.

• Restrict campaign contributions to only those donors who live within the state in which the election is held.

• Limit campaigning to specific time periods prior to elections.

• Open primaries so that citizens can vote without party affiliation. This would support efforts of party leaders to promote candidates who appeal to independent voters, not just the extremes of either party.

Perhaps we need to think outside the box. For example, consider the suggestion from author Walter Kirn. Create a virtual Congress where senators and members of Congress remain in their home states and conduct the people's business while in the environment of their own constituents. Imagine the power of the voters sitting in a room with their elected officials while they debate and exchange ideas. This may be an improvement over public servants sitting among lobbyists and PAC members as they write legislation.

If Congress cannot elevate its ethical standards, how can it deal effectively with the complicated issues facing our nation? Congress must restore the faith of Americans in its ability to lead with integrity. Sen. John McCain recently suggested that the 9 percent of Americans currently supporting Congress are either blood relatives or paid staff.

America became truly great as it grew in collective consciousness. Through social movements it corrected many of its flaws: slavery, unequal rights for women, child labor and abuse of Native Americans.

Now we appear stuck, unable to address the nation's problems. When individuals and institutions don't regulate themselves, new rules must be put in place.

Term limits are not needed if you have a Congress with ethics and transparency. Consider for a moment two men whose profiles are engraved in the marble of Mount Rushmore. George Washington at first refused the presidency because of his distaste for political cabals. Jefferson dropped from the Federalist Party because of the monarchical tendencies of Congress.

This country was founded in the spirit of freedom and enterprise. Citizens through their labors created wealth, and with this wealth created philanthropic works as never before seen in the history of the world. We are an innovative society blessed with vast natural resources.

America can still be a great country if Congress can restore the faith of Americans in its ability to lead with integrity. We the people can get this movement started by demanding each congressional candidate seeking office sign a pledge that embraces true reform.

Dudley Hafner lives in Santa Fe. He served as CEO of the American Heart Association from 1980 to 1997.