Revise & Extend
Federal Gov Staff to lose FEHBP
During a Communicating and Working with Congress seminar Ken Gold and I were teaching last week, I brought to the attention of the class the prospect that congressional staff may seem a little more ornery than normal due to the fact that they may be losing their government health insurance. While many of the Congressional
Defense Cuts are on the Way, Part 1: $100 billion, $300 billion, or $500 billion?
The question for defense spending is not whether it’s going to decrease over the next five years; rather it’s how far and how fast. The good news for defense is that it’s unlikely to shrink as much as it did following the end of the Korean War (down 43%), the Vietnam War (33%), or the Cold
An Inside Look At Congressional Fundraising
Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker yesterday tweeted snippets he overheard from an unnamed congressman making fundraising calls from a public space. The tweets provide a small look into the grueling demands that are a reality for many first-term members of Congress, as well as members in vulnerable seats. As Lizza notes, raising campaign money involves a
The Outlook for Discretionary Spending: Cloudy with Patches of Bright
London weather is notoriously cloudy, and when it’s not actually raining it’s likely to be misting, and nearly always dark and dreary. Sunny days are rare, especially in the winter. My favorite weather forecast is “cloudy with patches of bright”, which might be too optimistic an outlook for discretionary spending in the next couple of
Nuclear Showdown
Earlier this year a good faith, bipartisan deal was made in the Senate to put minor limits on the use of the filibuster on legislation. But this effort apparently did not tamp down the intense partisanship. In response, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is laying the rhetorical groundwork for much more aggressive reform later
The Federal Deficit is Shrinking Dramatically: So Why Aren’t We Celebrating?
This year’s federal budget deficit is shrinking, and shrinking faster than anyone had anticipated: surely this is good news. There have been a number of really positive developments on the budget and the economy over the last several months, mostly unexpected. Just last month, the House and Senate both passed budget resolutions, for the first
Are “Gangs” the Solution?
Gangs of lawmakers have been making news since at least the 1983 reform of Social Security. The theory is that smaller, nimbler groups including members from both parties are more likely to get results on contentious issues. While in recent years gang activity in the Senate has proliferated, their record has been at best spotty.
81 More Ways to Save Taxpayer Dollars
Like all presidential budget requests, President Obama’s FY14 budget includes recommendations for streamlining government to promote greater efficiency. Traditionally, presidents propose cuts to programs (Obama’s budget includes 215) and encounter resistance from Congress, but this year might be different. Congressional Reaction Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) recently sounded a call
What Congressional Recesses Mean for the Federal Agencies
According to a recent Gallup poll, congressional approval stands at 13 percent, just three percentage points above last year’s all-time low of 10 percent approval. With numbers like these, it’s no wonder that members of Congress are eager to leave Washington and head home to their states and districts. Congress officially began its annual Easter/Passover
What the Budget Resolution Is, and Isn’t
As the House and Senate Budget Committees process their respective versions of the budget resolution this month, it’s useful to remind ourselves exactly what this document is about. And what it isn’t about. Here’s a quick and dirty primer: What the Budget Resolution is: • A blueprint, in the broadest terms, on what the federal