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Dear Friends: Happy spring! While cherry blossoms steal the show outdoors, a buzz of activity continues inside the Capitol complex. A slew of committees are holding hearings on the FY2020 budget, with Cabinet members and other officials making the trek to the Hill to defend the President’s funding requests. However,
Procedurally, the House and Senate could not be more different. The House is subject to absolute majority rule. Conversely, the Senate is governed by more bipartisan processes like unlimited debate, supermajority cloture, and unanimous consent. However, the two chambers have become more similar in recent years. Partisan House members moving
Congressional oversight in the 116th Congress has gotten off to a roaring start. After two years of unified government in the Trump administration, Democrats are eager to begin looking into a long list of topics now that they have retaken the House. The news cycle, already moving at an exhausting
The FY2019 appropriations process in Congress—which will provide funding for the federal government from October 1, 2018, until September 30, 2019—is once again approaching a deadline. After managing to pass five of the twelve annual appropriations bills in two “mini-bus” packages in late September, Congress passed two continuing resolutions (the
After a moment of pomp and circumstance to accompany the swearing-in of the new Congress, the 116th Congress quickly pivoted to the less glamorous work of legislating. The most immediate concern for Democrats, who now control the House of Representatives, is to end a partial government shutdown that has dragged
Finally! Nearly fourteen months after a cascade of #MeToo revelations led to fresh scrutiny of Congress’s opaque and antiquated process for handling sexual harassment complaints, significant reforms to the system are poised to become law. Under the 1995 Congressional Accountability Act (CAA), which applied civil rights, labor and workplace safety
Another election cycle has washed over our nation’s capital. As outgoing members clear out their desks and incoming members eye their new offices, Congress gets ready for the next phase. It’s time to adjust to the aftermath of the election results, their ongoing appropriations work, other lame duck session policy
Dear Friends, Greetings from post-midterms Washington. A lot has changed since we last caught up! This month Senior Fellow Laura Blessing walks us through a quick election recap, some expectations for the remainder of the lame-duck session, and a few thoughts on what lies beyond. Also be sure to check
The attempted Pelosi ouster is crumbling. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) heads into today’s Democratic Caucus leadership elections unopposed in the race for Speaker. However, her quest for the gavel isn’t over. Pelosi needs a majority of those “voting for speaker by name” to prevail when the full House
In the wake of the federal elections last week, all eyes immediately turned toward the Democratic Party and the impending transfer of power in the House of Representatives. While many observers are looking forward to January and analyzing what is likely to happen in DC with a Democratic House, many
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