Director’s Desk
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | October 11, 2022
Dear Friends: Congress has adjourned until mid-November, when a packed lame duck session will get underway. In addition to critical pieces of unfinished business like extending federal funding past the current December 16 deadline and passing an FY23 National Defense Authorization Act, there will be a pile-up of other issues to handle. One
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | September 7, 2022
Dear Friends: I hope you all had a wonderful summer. It’s now September of an even-numbered year, and Hill observers know what that means: the race is on for Congress to dispose of its most pressing business and release members for a final burst of campaigning before November 8. At the top of the must-do
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | July 22, 2022
Dear Friends: If you’ve ever found yourself frantically trying to cross everything off your to-do list before heading out of town, you know how Congress is feeling right now. With only a handful of scheduled legislative days before the August recess, House and Senate leaders are looking for progress on key measures and hoping to
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | June 6, 2022
Dear Friends, The first half of summer is always an intense time on Capitol Hill, and we are about to be in the thick of it. This week will bring a continued focus on gun violence in both chambers. The House will vote on a large package of gun safety measures this week, while
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | May 3, 2022
Dear Friends, Last night’s extraordinary release of a draft Supreme Court opinion appearing to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade decision has ensured abortion rights will dominate the conversation on and off the Hill this month, and likely for remainder of this Congress. Expect lots more talk about eliminating the filibuster in order
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | April 5, 2022
Dear Friends, Happy spring! Last week, Congress received President Biden’s FY23 budget, a document that any legislative branch denizen will remind you is merely a proposal. The next couple of months will bring a slew of committee hearings, staff briefings, meetings with advocates, and member project requests as the appropriations committees prepare to
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | March 2, 2022
Dear Friends: As last night’s State of the Union made clear, there are some events and issues that can still bring Congress together, and plenty more that continue to drive them apart. With Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine dominating the world’s attention, Congress has been largely united on the need for security and
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | February 2, 2022
Dear Friends: It’s Groundhog Day, so I suppose it’s not surprising that a lot of what’s happening on the Hill feels pretty familiar. Will there finally be an agreement on funding the government for the fiscal year that began over four months ago? Can the Build Back Better agenda – or some piece
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | January 7, 2022
Dear Friends, I hope this note finds you all safe and healthy as we transition into 2022. Yesterday marked a dark but important anniversary: one year since the January 6 riot at the Capitol. The trauma of that day lingers for many in Washington and beyond, and I would draw your attention to some of
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | December 2, 2021
Dear Friends, Welcome to the final legislative sprint of 2021. While frantic Decembers have become the norm, this one could be a record-setter. At the beginning of the week I would have told you the easiest item on the to-do list was funding the government, but complications have arisen there as well. GAI Fellow