Revise & Extend
Remote voting would have some bad consequences.
Josh Huder | March 16, 2020
Amid a growing pandemic where social interaction could threaten health, many questions have been raised about the continuity of operations on Capitol Hill. Not for the first time, remote voting is among the ideas being floated. It has been more frequently mentioned in congressional discourse since smartphones became commonplace. Over the past couple of weeks, however,
The Appropriations Process from the Perspective of a Congressional Staffer
Mark Harkins | March 10, 2020
Welcome to appropriations season on Capitol Hill. With the President’s budget officially submitted last month it is now up to Congress to decide what to keep, what to discard, and what to enhance. I want to focus on the third category, and I offer these thoughts from the perspective of someone with nearly two
Polarization vs Partisanship in the Context of the Impeachment Debate
Josh Huder | February 4, 2020
“Polarization” is used as a near blanket explanation for anything political, from congressional dysfunction and lack of compromise to disdain for the opposite party. And now, it is also to blame for the impeachment, the trial, and the impending acquittal of President Trump. Except it isn’t, at least not entirely. While polarization has become a
The Long Shadow of 2010
Laura Blessing | January 9, 2020
The dawning of a new decade brings the expected retrospectives. While algorithms compute our most listened-to songs and pundits connect the latest torrential news cycle to a loose historical pattern, finding the signal amidst the noise can be elusive. Periodization schemes can be difficult to pin down. But arguably, a decade is precisely the right
National Security Oversight: Still a Man’s World
Katina Slavkova | December 5, 2019
Women’s representation has made significant gains in politics. Women are major contenders for the Presidency and are increasingly winning office at the national, state, and local levels. Women comprising a quarter of Congress may be small in an absolute sense, but it is truly historic. Yet within the legislative branch, that influence is not felt
Appropriations Update
Mark Harkins | November 4, 2019
Here we go again. To keep the government funded past the start of the fiscal year on October 1st, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that lasts until November 21st. Over the last decade, during non-election years, it has taken, on average, SIX months into the fiscal year before all 12 appropriations bills have been
Impeachment Politics Requires a Different Vote Calculator
Josh Huder | October 9, 2019
Anyone who watched School House Rock knows how bills become law. From a numbers standpoint, it is straightforward. It needs 218 votes in the House, 51 votes in the Senate (60 to cut off a filibuster), and a presidential signature. Given this math, some wonder why Speaker Pelosi is hesitating to pass a resolution—which
What comes next in the impeachment inquiry?
Matt Glassman | October 3, 2019
Last week, following a whistleblower complaint about certain foreign affairs actions taken by the White House, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House was beginning an “official impeachment inquiry” into President Trump. Pelosi directed six House committees to put together their case for potential impeachment and forward them to the
Back In Session
Laura Blessing | September 11, 2019
Congress is back in session, and all eyes are on the impending budget negotiations. The past month has not provided a respite from significant news. A number of mass shootings, border developments, and the clattering of the 2020 presidential aspirants reminds us that while Congress may have escaped the Potomac’s heat, the world does not
Lessons In Impeachment
Laura Blessing | June 5, 2019
In politics, we often learn the lesson of the last time. When President Obama came into office, he and his advisors read Gordon Goldstein’s Lessons in Disaster, which covered mistakes made in Vietnam, to apply them to Afghanistan and Iraq. The enduring legacy of these conflicts is the power vacuum that enabled the rise