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For federal departments and agencies, the most important issue in the First Session of the 114th Congress will be the shape of the FY16 congressional budget resolution, which will set the discretionary spending levels for the Appropriations Committees. New House Budget Committee Chair Tom Price of Georgia recently told a
For the past week, Majority Leader McConnell experimented with an open amendment process in the Senate. Members offered amendments on everything from climate change, to federally protected land, to limiting the President’s ability to initiate and sign bilateral agreements with foreign countries. The broader question is can McConnell take a
A major decision point facing the 114th Congress will be how to deal with federal spending beyond the end of the current fiscal year. The December 2013 Ryan-Murray agreement raised baseline discretionary spending by about $9 billion per year for FY14 and 15, but expires at the end of the
The 114th Congress — At a Glance HOUSE SENATE 247 Republicans 54 188 Democrats 46 58 Freshmen 13 84 Women 20 45 African Am. 2 29 Latino 3 81 Military Service 16 OUT IN Reid threatening weekend sessions McConnell threatening longer workweeks Shielding vulnerable senators […]
There’s an old adage in American politics that campaigns boil down to a choice between one of two simple messages: “It’s time for a change,” or “Stay the course.” Democrats can blame President Obama’s unpopularity, their party’s boom-and-bust turnout, an extraordinarily challenging map of seats to defend in the Senate,
GAI Senior Fellow Josh Huder was quoted in a Newsweek article on the impact of Sen. McCain’s chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee on future defense and foreign policy. “At hearings, he likes to be seen as the straight-talking arbiter of conservative truth. I suspect we’re going to see
“The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved.” A select few foreign policy and Middle East experts will quickly recognize the origin of this sobering assessment, but for the most casual observers of world events this
Although the current continuing resolution (CR) expires in just six weeks, and Congress isn’t scheduled to return for another two weeks, no one is mentioning the “S word” (shutdown) this year. Instead, the question seems to be whether Congress will be able to pass an FY15 omnibus bill, or whether
UPI article on the upcoming midterm elections and the contentious battle for the Senate quoted GAI Senior Fellow Marian Currinder on what would transpire if Democrats lose control of the chamber: “I see the Democrats playing the exact same role that the Republicans have been playing the past couple of
Ebola is the most recent “crisis” (footnote: “crisis” is a loose term given Ebola’s relative lack of impact on the health of individual Americans) highlighting a severe abdication of duty. Rather than produce a solution to the “crisis,” both parties appear content to campaign on the issue. Republicans’ talking points
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