Budget and Appropriations
Will Congress finally have a normal(ish) appropriations cycle?
Mark Harkins | May 6, 2015
Last week, there was a story (pay wall) in Congressional Quarterly on the Military Construction-VA Appropriations bill. I was intrigued when Rep. David Price (NC-4), the longtime appropriator on the Democratic side and the current Ranking Member on the Transportation-HUD Subcommittee (T-HUD) was predicting that “there would be a point during the appropriations process
Weely Round up: Congress’s rash of bipartisanship has symptoms of partisanship
Josh Huder | April 20, 2015
Bipartisan deals were the big theme this week on the Hill. This was a welcomed contrast to the last two Congresses where even routine bipartisan measures were hard to come by. In part, this was expected. Now that Republicans control both the House and Senate, they have an interest in demonstrating an ability to
An Early Look at Prospects for the FY16 Budget
Kenneth Gold | March 31, 2015
On Wednesday last week the House passed its version of the FY16 budget resolution; and on early Friday morning the Senate passed its version. Modern budget resolutions are highly partisan vehicles, so one would assume that they’d pass easily in each chamber. And with one party in control of both the House and the Senate,
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
Most budgets lack details. That doesn’t mean they’re ineffective.
Josh Huder | March 19, 2015
Since the House budget resolution dropped yesterday a lot of complaints have surfaced about its lack of detail. Lack of detail have some claiming it abandons Paul Ryan’s budget, – even though it is remarkably similar – and many pundits and politicians lamenting the vague character of the House Republicans’ proposal.
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
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
Appropriations Bills, No Return to 1994
When asked what they remember as the most significant event of 1994, people tend to be divided between the massive 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake that devastated Los Angeles and the arrest of O.J. Simpson on murder charges following the infamous slow motion car chase in the white Bronco. Some of us, however, also remember 1994
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