Congressional Update
What We’re Reading
GAI | May 9, 2017
We are living in interesting times. In order to bring you more insight on the issues of the day, we thought we’d send out a sampling of what we’re reading in the office. There’s a lot going on in addition to the recent budget developments that Josh Huder ably covers in his piece for this
The Omnibus Is Here
Josh Huder | May 8, 2017
House and Senate leaders pushed through an omnibus spending package last week. The bill combines 11 appropriations bills for the final months of the FY2017 calendar. Democrats walked away with some big wins in the omnibus. They struck over 100 policy riders, resisted non-defense cuts proposed by President Trump, and managed to block funding for
Whither Tax Reform? Chasing the Great White Whale
Laura Blessing | February 7, 2016
Tax reform, particularly genuinely comprehensive tax reform, seems to be the great white whale of American politics. Given that it tends to occur once a generation, the smart money is always on betting on the reform du jour failing. And yet, confident rumblings have yet again surfaced–from Speaker Ryan and Ways and
What Does Congress Have on Tap in 2016?
Josh Huder | January 7, 2016
The 114th Congress was a whirlwind of activity compared to its predecessors. Accomplishments like trade promotion authority, a Medicare “doc-fix” solution, a two-year budget deal, and the highway funding act were legislative highlights in a productive first session. In all, the 114th Congress passed 115 laws, the most in a first year of Congress since
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,
It’s not all Gridlock: What Republicans can accomplish in the 114th Congress
Can decades of dysfunction reverse course in a single Congress? No. But despite the general pessimism surrounding Congress there are several reason to expect the 114th to be more productive than its recent predecessors, which were historically bad on several fronts. Now that divided congressional control is over a sense of mild optimism
Obama Loses the Legal Battle, but the Battlefield Has Changed
The Supreme Court handed President Obama a defeat in NLRB v. Noel Canning this week, declaring that Obama’s three appointments to the NLRB made during “recesses” between pro-forma sessions the Senate convened every three days were clearly unconstitutional. If the Senate says it’s in session—even pro-forma—then it’s in session, and the president must obtain its
Earmarks and Eric Cantor’s Primary Loss
Ashley Parker and Jonathan Martin have an excellent piece in The New York Times on the changing demographics of voters in suburban districts and how that led to primary defeats of Sen. Thad Cochran in Mississippi (now in a runoff) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia. I think they underplay a critical
Assessing Congressional Productivity: Getting it Right
The Washington Post’s Wonkblog had a write up on congressional productivity not long ago. Its central thesis is Congress is more productive in election years than in non-election years. This is a good counter-intuitive point. Many pundits discuss congressional productivity only in terms of major bills passed. However, Congress often passes laws that fly under
Senatorial Courtesy, Blue Slips Caught in the Fallout
Ian Millhiser has a very good piece on judicial nominations and blue slips over at Think Progress. It covers a lot of ground and is a wonderful read. However, I do have some bones to pick with his take. At the core of Millhiser’s argument are blue slips and their place in Senate history.
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