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Just this afternoon, the Washington Post ran a story on their web site titled “Senate Moves to Extend Jobless Benefits.” Most readers would surmise that the chamber had in fact voted to extend the emergency legislation that provided unemployment benefits beyond the traditional 26 weeks to the 1.3 million Americans
Both parties electoral fortunes reached highs and lows October 2013. During the government shutdown it was obvious to many commentators that Democrats would steamroll Republicans. Two weeks later after the rough roll out of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans were on the verge of a landslide victory. Now it appears
Don Wolfensberger wrote a nice piece on the parallels between Majority Leader Reid’s nuclear option and Speaker Reed’s ruling in 1890 that eliminated dilatory motions in the House. Both are good examples of rules changes through precedent. The two were so similar it was the first example that came to
In a rare moment of cooperation, Congress looks ready to pass a bipartisan budget bill that will ease sequester cuts and keep the government running for the next two years. Orchestrated by Democratic senator Patty Murray and Republican representative Paul Ryan, the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $20
Since Democrats invoked the nuclear option, reducing cloture on judicial and executive nominations, there are serious concerns that those actions would result in fallout. Would the Republican minority, in retaliation to losing significant leverage in the nominations process, attempt to drag out every nomination and/or bill? So far, that can’t
Since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used the so-called “nuclear option” to essentially end the filibuster on most presidential nominations on Thursday, there has been considerable speculation over the future of the filibuster on legislation. GAI Senior Fellow Joshua Huder argues that the filibuster, when used correctly, can foster bipartisanship
On Thursday, the Senate agreed to lower the amount of votes needed to break a filibuster from 60 to 51. Reid says the drastic decision was borne out of frustration from repeated Republican attempts to block President Obama’s judicial and executive nominees. Republicans have countered saying the Democrats will regret
Enormous change to the Senate occurred today. By majority vote, the Senate moved to proceed on judicial and executive nominations, with the exception of Supreme Court nominations. What you need to know: The parliamentary tactic used in the Senate was not a rules change. It was a change in precedent
Senior Fellow Marian Currinder spoke to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) this morning on the political dynamics of Congress. The question at hand was why Congress is the way it is, and why it matters. It’s no secret that the current Congress is unpopular, with an
Senior Fellow Josh Huder followed-up to his October 4 post — written with Senior Fellow Marian Currinder on Speaker Boehner’s ability to negotiate a compromise — with a post on the budget outlook: “In the wake of the government shutdown and near default on the nation’s debt, one of the
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