DanielSchuman | First Branch Center

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for March 13, 2023: House Unions Can Continue

By DanielSchuman March 13, 2023 17 min read

TOP LINE We have to hand it to the Committee on House Administration for roaring out of the gate in the 118th Congress. Last week, it garnered reform ideas from members, held the first Modernization Subcommittee hearing, and allotted committee funds with significant increases nearly across the board. The Legislative Branch Subcommittee on Appropriations, meanwhile, […]

Tags: Modernization, Staff Clearances, Congressional Unionization, January 6, PRESS Act, CRS Reports, Appropriations, Staff Pay

Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Announcements and Statements, Announcements, Blog posts

Demand Progress Extols Senator Markey’s Staff for Seeking Voluntary Recognition of their Union, Urges Senate to Introduce Resolution Allowing Senate and Joint Staff to Unionize

By DanielSchuman March 9, 2023 2 min read

Today, the staff for Senator Markey’s office took the unprecedented step of seeking voluntary recognition of their effort to unionize. Although the House of Representatives in the 117th Congress granted its employees the ability to exercise their rights to collectively negotiate, the Senate has yet to take similar action. Demand Progress supports Senator Markey’s staff […]

Tags: Congressional Unionization

Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for March 6, 2023: Members Request Staff Funding

By DanielSchuman March 6, 2023 13 min read

TOP LINE Money decisions figured prominently in a shortened work week for the House. Committee leaders followed suit with Senate counterparts in requesting more funds for their staff in the coming fiscal year, while appropriators established tighter controls over the earmarks process. CHA, meanwhile, has grabbed the spotlight early in this Congress. This week … The […]

Tags: Appropriations, Staff Pay, Modernization, Diversity and Inclusion, US Capitol Police, January 6, MRA, Earmarks, Legislative Branch

AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for February 27, 2023: Videodome

By DanielSchuman February 27, 2023 13 min read

TOP LINE Speaker Kevin McCarthy interjected himself into the debate over US Capitol Police openness and transparency in a major way by releasing the entirety of video recorded by its cameras on January 6, 2021 to Tucker Carlson at Fox News. The how and why of this decision are going to distract from the what […]

Tags: US Capitol Police, January 6, Congressional Data Task Force, Earmarks

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for February 21, 2023: Help Wanted: AOC

By DanielSchuman February 23, 2023 10 min read

TOP LINE The lights are off and no one is home as Congress takes an extended break for the Presidents’ Day holiday (which the newsletter also observed). When they return, the Senate committees have a clear path to staff up now that the Rules Committee has allocated budget allotments for each as it does at […]

Tags: Diversity and Inclusion, debt limit, factions, Appointments, Section 702

AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, First Branch Forecast

First Branch Forecast for February 13, 2023: Eagle eye

By DanielSchuman February 13, 2023 21 min read

TOP LINE It’s hard not to have 21st-century risks facing Congress at top of mind some weeks. We uncovered a serious breach of privacy and independence affecting individual members of Congress involving the FBI that requires immediate action to shield members and staff from unlawful warrantless surveillance. With the help of some sharp colleagues, we […]

Tags: Appropriations, Congressional Unionization, debt limit, AI, Appointments, Section 702, Surveillance, Problem Solvers Caucus

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Appropriation Tracking, Blog posts

Appointments of Legislative Branch Office and Agency Heads

By DanielSchuman January 10, 2023 10 min read

Written by Taylor J. Swift There are over 30 support offices and agencies within the Legislative branch, including the Government Accountability Office, the Architect of the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the United States Capitol Police, and more. How are agency heads chosen and how are they removed? The answer is not always clear. At […]

Tags: Legislative Branch, Appointments

Appropriations, Appropriation Tracking, Blog posts

Legislative Branch Funding Breakdown in the FY 2023 Omnibus Bill

By DanielSchuman January 5, 2023 5 min read

The FY 2023 appropriations omnibus was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Biden. The FY 2023 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill was rolled into the package, and it is packed with good government initiatives and significant investments in Congress’s capacity to legislate, conduct oversight, serve constituents, and more. We and our civil […]

Tags: Leg Support Agencies

Appropriations, Modernization, Appropriation Tracking, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Legislative Branch Appropriations Line Items: FY 2021 to FY 2023

By DanielSchuman December 21, 2022 1 min read

Congress finally introduced its FY 2023 omnibus bill. In the spreadsheet here and below, we broke down the Legislative Branch line items contained in the FY 2023 omnibus bill and compared them to FY 2021 and FY 2022. The spreadsheet also contains the requests published in the president budget, the appropriations levels supported by the […]

Tags: House, Data, Leg Support Agencies

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for December 19, 2022: Not O.K.?

By DanielSchuman December 19, 2022 12 min read

TOP LINE The end of this Congress feels like the run up before a high school graduation. Senior leaders are saying goodbye while the next crop waits their turn. Everyone’s rushing to turn in their remaining work, leading to sloppy mistakes. The turnover will lead to something new, but we’re not sure what. This work […]

Tags: PLUM Act, Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, Staff Pay, Judicial Security and Privacy Act, Congressional Data Task Force, factions, Statements of Disbursements, NDAA, Caucus Rules

Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Announcements and Statements, Advocacy, Announcements, Blog posts

House Staff Overtime Pay Approved

By DanielSchuman December 15, 2022 2 min read

Within a week of our action with allies Congressional Progressive Staff Association (CPSA) and the Congressional Workers Union, the House approved overtime pay regulations for House staff to go into effect next year. Outgoing CHA Chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren introduced a resolution Monday to implement the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) regulations to update […]

Tags: Staff Pay, House, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights

Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for December 12, 2022: Twelve Squared

By DanielSchuman December 12, 2022 13 min read

TOP LINE No, this is not the most wonderful time of the year for people who care about Congress. The twin must-pass bills that remain for this lame duck session – the NDAA and additional government funding – encapsulate the most dispiriting aspects of current congressional procedure and leadership. Tracking what gets thrown into the […]

Tags: PLUM Act, NDAA, factions, Judicial Security and Privacy Act, US Capitol Police, Staff Pay, Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act

News

First Branch Forecast for March 13, 2023: House Unions Can Continue

Demand Progress Extols Senator Markey’s Staff for Seeking Voluntary Recognition of their Union, Urges Senate to Introduce Resolution Allowing Senate and Joint Staff to Unionize

First Branch Forecast for March 6, 2023: Members Request Staff Funding

First Branch Forecast for February 27, 2023: Videodome

First Branch Forecast for February 21, 2023: Help Wanted: AOC

First Branch Forecast for February 13, 2023: Eagle eye

Appointments of Legislative Branch Office and Agency Heads

Legislative Branch Funding Breakdown in the FY 2023 Omnibus Bill

Legislative Branch Appropriations Line Items: FY 2021 to FY 2023

First Branch Forecast for December 19, 2022: Not O.K.?

House Staff Overtime Pay Approved

First Branch Forecast for December 12, 2022: Twelve Squared

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