114th Congress
The budget rule is uncommon but (small ‘d’) democratic
The House budget proposal is being brought to the floor under an uncommon rule called the queen-of-the-hill. It’s being framed as quirky, odd and, at times, a signal of Republican dysfunction. However, it perhaps best described as a release valve. Under the queen-of-the-hill process multiple amendments (which is a full substitute bill) are
Quick process hit: Senate will vote on a clean DHS bill. Why that looked likely last Monday.
Today Senate Republicans are moving forward on the inevitable. They will vote on a clean DHS funding bill with no immigration riders attached. With time running out they struck a deal with Democrats, which Minority Leader Harry Reid agreed to a couple hours ago. The key point here is that DHS will come up for a
Democrats gained even more power in the DHS/immigration debate, and it happened last week
It’s well known that any Republican attempt to reverse Obama’s executive action would be an uphill battle. Because any congressional response required a legislative fix, Republicans face a likely insurmountable veto, even if they managed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. All the checks of government disadvantage Republicans’, and today
What does DHS/immigration tell us about the power of Congress and the President?
Institutional power is more of an academic topic. Nonetheless, it has enormous ramifications. The current immigration debate is a great example of that. Despite the rhetoric around the DHS debate, America has never had a dictator president – the current president included. However, the DHS/immigration debate is an interesting look into the struggle for power
Flaws in Shutdown Logic
Republicans’ flirtation with a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security intensified over the weekend. Boehner appears entrenched and suggested Sunday that a shutdown is possible. On President’s Day the dynamic changed… possibly. A federal judge in Texas recently halted the President’s executive action on immigration. Several reports suggest that this
Have Republicans Gone M.A.D. (Mutual Assured Destruction) on the Filibuster?
Frustrated House Republicans lashed out against their Senate colleagues Thursday cialis dosierungen. Without a clear path forward on the DHS funding bill, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) and others blamed Majority Leader McConnell for failing to save what is a bad legislative strategy. Roll Call’s Matt Fuller reports: “Mitch McConnell can change the
Obama wants filibuster reform. Would it help polarization?
Obama had some interesting things to say about polarization and the filibuster in his interview with Vox. When the question of if government can work in the midst of polarization was posed, Obama mentioned the filibuster: “Probably the one thing that we could change without a constitutional amendment that would make a difference
Why three failed votes is not necessarily a failure
Josh Huder | February 6, 2015
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell received a fair amount of flak this week for his attempts to move forward on the DHS funding bill that expires at the end of the month. Republicans failed to invoke cloture on the DHS funding bill for the third time in three days, raising speculation about a potential shutdown of
Sticker-Schock: Breaking down Members’ Interior Design and Operation Spending
This piece was co-written with Mark Harkins, a Senior Fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University. He worked on Capitol Hill for over 17 years in various positions including Chief of Staff in a personal office. The Fix at the Washington Post has an interesting piece on the cost of setting up and
Uncertainties Ahead for Federal Spending
Kenneth Gold | January 28, 2015
For federal departments and agencies, the most important issue in the First Session of the 114th Congress will be the shape of the FY16 congressional budget resolution, which will set the discretionary spending levels for the Appropriations Committees. New House Budget Committee Chair Tom Price of Georgia recently told a Heritage Foundation Conference that he
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