Revise & Extend
Continuing Resolutions: Continuing to Damage Defense
GAI | January 9, 2023
Guest Post by Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Cabana For the national security community, the calendar year has dawned with an $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and an omnibus funding bill passed in late December. But what may have felt like a Christmas miracle to congressional staffers scurrying home belies a larger problem. The fiscal
117th Congress Review and 118th Predictions
GAI | December 19, 2022
The Congress: Two Beers In crew ditch beer for bourbon as they discuss what happened in the 117th Congress. They also opine on the new Republican majority in the House, whether a Speaker will be elected on January 3, and the effects of an expanded Democratic majority in the Senate.
A Very Busy Lame Duck?
Katina Slavkova | December 1, 2022
Why walk when you can fly? As the 117th Congress pushes into its lame duck session, party leaders consider an ambitious array of bills, and historically, it’s not unusual for such sessions to feature major legislative items. While lame ducks of the past decade or two have typically been marked by
The Justices Weigh Democracy
Susan Sullivan Lagon | November 2, 2022
Every even-numbered year in the U.S., some politician or pundit will proclaim that “this is the most important election in our lifetimes!” This news is often met with yawns by the weary public, even among those who bother to vote. But when a respected appellate court judge declares that a case pending before the U.S.
The Midterms Cometh
Laura Blessing | October 11, 2022
A bar graph haunts Washington. You know the one. Its jagged teeth notch losses for the President’s party in every post-WWII midterm House election, all except two. Those electoral projections have been a moving target this year, and in many respects we are living in unusual times. But the ultimate results will be more
Student Loan Debt Relief is a Big Deal – for Congress
Matt Glassman | September 7, 2022
On August 24th, President Biden announced a plan to provide student loan debt relief. The policy will include debt cancellation of up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for non- Pell Grant debt, for anyone with an income less than $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples). In addition, future monthly payments
The Presidency: Bending Institutions to Save Them? By Professor Julia Azari
GAI | July 22, 2022
By Professor Julia Azari, Marquette University Presidential power is a bit at odds with democracy. Presidency scholars have noted this for years, suggesting that “greatness” is often uncomfortably close to the kind of norm-busting, authoritarian action that our constitution is supposed to avoid. Presidents also face a dilemma about who they represent.
Rest In Peace Congressional Budget Process
Josh Huder | June 6, 2022
Sometime in the last ten years the congressional budget process died. The precise moment is hard to pinpoint because it is not totally – just mostly — dead. But today, only a hollow version of the process still exists. Partisan majorities pass shell budgets to trigger reconciliation in the hopes
The Defense Budget: Current Status and Core Issues
Katina Slavkova | May 3, 2022
Defense officials are already busy making the obligatory annual rounds on Capitol Hill in support of the President’s preferred spending priorities. The current steady pace of congressional hearings might suggest that Congress is methodically working its way towards a timely passage of the defense budget. But this burst of activity on the
The Legacy Question
Laura Blessing | April 5, 2022
It’s time. Time to talk about the L word. As the cherry trees blossom in Washington and legislators’ minds turn towards reelection, the administration is taking stock of its legacy. In our hyper-polarized era, an administration’s first two years, especially if under unified governance, play an outsized role in the mark they leave on politics,