How does the Us Congress, as it exists in its current structure, support and or llimit authentic representation?

The House of Representatives is supposed to speak for the people. They have short terms so that new blood can come in and represent the common person. The Senate is made up of wealthy, educated men of influence. These men, according to the founders of the Constitution, were to be the leaders and the Representatives were supposed to be the voice of the people. I see that. I remember growing up in South Dakota and feeling very good about Tom Daschle and Larry Pressler. I remember feeling as if they had the states interest in mind first. I also remember that come election time it was a no brainer who was getting elected. In fact as research for this discussion I looked up who the current Senators were and discovered that it was the same person that has been there since I was a young adult. This is part of what limits the Congress. The House of Representatives is supposed to have a turnover every two years and yet we have Representatives in here for 20 years or more. I wonder if this is a good thing, especially now with all of the changes that need to be made in health care and education. When the President and Congress are on the same page it seems that the public pays for it. However, when the President and Congress disagree it brings up new issues, resolves issues and seems to keep the system in check. However, growing up, even up until I started this class, I was under the impression that The President and Congress needed to agree in order for us to prosper. I just can’t believe how in the dark I have truly been about our political system. Its one thing to not care, but it is a totally different thing to not know. I had never been interested in politics or the impact that it had on me, now I realize how incredibly naive that was. Everyone needs to know what is going on so that we can change things, stir the pot, and ruffle a few feathers. We have been living in ignorance for so long we didn’t even realize that the government was doing what it wanted regardless of how we felt about it and we just sat back and took it.
I understand that this assignment is concerning the structure of Congress and I believe that the founding fathers could not have foreseen what it has become. The current structure is problematic, even though the representatives are there for the people and are more reachable than the President, unless they have power and head a committee, they can do nothing. Dr. Moskowitz, I know that this course is supposed to open our eyes to American Government but I didn’t realize that it would leave such a bad taste in my mouth.