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Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Continuity and Resiliency, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for July 25, 2022: Après moi, le déluge

By DanielSchuman July 25, 2022 18 min read

TOP LINE This week. In the House, it’s the last week before summer recess. It’s also the Senate’s penultimate week before recess — though we’re seeing calls for both chambers to stay in session. The House will consider a huge semiconductor R&D bill and perhaps public safety legislation concerning firearms. Senate Democratic Appropriators may publish their approps bills. Expect […]

Tags: Staff Pay, Congressional Unionization, January 6, factions, House Digital Service

Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

House Office Unionization Tracker

By DanielSchuman July 21, 2022 1 min read

Our continuously updated tracker lets you monitor the unionization movement in Congress, including which House offices are unionizing, which members of Congress supported the PRO Act and the resolution allowing House staff to collectively bargain without fear of retaliation, and more. View the tracker as a standalone spreadsheet.

Tags: Congressional Unionization

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

Demand Progress Action and Congressional Progressive Staff Association Call on Senate Leadership to Increase Staff Pay Floor to $45,000

By DanielSchuman July 21, 2022 5 min read

The CPSA letter was signed by 150 current congressional staffers, while the letter led by the advocacy organization Demand Progress Action was signed by over 15 organizations. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Congressional Progressive Staff Association (CPSA) and Demand Progress Action sent two letters to Senator Pro-Tempore Patrick Leahy and Senate Leadership calling for the […]

Tags: Staff Pay, Congressional Ops, congressional staff

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

First Branch Forecast for July 18, 2022: Accumulation of Facts

By DanielSchuman July 18, 2022 14 min read

TOP LINE Happy House Union Day to all those who celebrate! Today is the day House staff can join a labor union under protection of law. It’s a historic occasion a quarter-century in the making. And yet, some Senate staff cannot collectively bargain until the Senate approves regulations adopted by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights and some joint […]

Tags: Office of Legal Counsel, Staff Pay, Congressional Unionization, Diversity and Inclusion, US Capitol Police, NDAA

Accountability and Oversight, Announcements and Statements, Advocacy, Announcements, Blog posts

Statement on passage of the Periodically Listing Updates to Management (PLUM) Act

By DanielSchuman July 18, 2022 2 min read

The House included the Periodically Listing Updates to Management (PLUM) Act as an amendment to the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed last week. “In passing the Periodically Listing Updates to Management (PLUM) Act, Congress just took an important step to increase transparency of political appointees, who are among the most senior leaders […]

Tags: Appropriations, PLUM Act, Executive Branch, Legislation, NDAA

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

First Branch Forecast for July 11, 2022: The Plot Thickens

By DanielSchuman July 11, 2022 19 min read

TOP LINE This week. There are just a few weeks left until August recess — three in the House, four in the Senate — which means everything’s accelerating. • They’re back. The Senate is back on Monday and the House is back on Tuesday. It’s NDAA week in the House (amendments are here); Senate Dems appear to be lining up another […]

Tags: Staff Pay, Diversity and Inclusion, January 6, Earmarks, Political Violence

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

Event Announcement – The Power of Unions in Congress: Know Your Rights

By DanielSchuman July 6, 2022 2 min read

How does unionization work in Congress? What’s the history behind this congressional unionization movement? What rights will be granted to me as a congressional employee? There’s a lot of information — and misinformation — out there. With the July 18 deadline for the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to implement the resolution that grants House […]

Tags: House, Congressional Unionization, congressional staff

Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, Appropriation Tracking, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for June 27, 2022: Apropos everything

By DanielSchuman June 27, 2022 16 min read

TOP LINE What to expect from Congress this week? The House is holding a committee work week before joining the Senate, which is already out on recess. They will return the week of July 11th. We are writing this newsletter before 5pm on Friday, so you’ll have to check the House committee calendar for upcoming hearings, but we know […]

Tags: Staff Pay, Congressional Unionization, Congressional Data Task Force, Legislative Branch

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

Demand Progress Proposals Included in FY 2023 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bills and Report

By DanielSchuman June 24, 2022 34 min read

On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, the full House Appropriations Committee favorably (32-26) reported the FY 2023 Legislative Branch Subcommittee Bill (with amendments) and committee report. They are packed with good government reforms and significant investments in Congress’s capacity to legislate, conduct oversight, serve constituents, and more. We and our civil society colleagues made recommendations of […]

Tags: Appropriations, Modernization, House, Leg Support Agencies

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

First Branch Forecast for June 21, 2022

By DanielSchuman June 21, 2022 21 min read

TOP LINE This week. The House is in today and so is the Senate. After this week, both chambers will take a break from floor legislative activities until July 11th — according to the House floor calendar and Senate floor calendar — although the House will hold a committee work week next week. Afterward, the House has scheduled only 3 weeks of […]

Tags: Appropriations, Staff Pay, US Capitol Police, January 6, Congressional Data Task Force, Legislative Branch, Political Violence, House Digital Service

Appropriations, Appropriation Tracking, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Leg Branch Line Items FY 21-23

By DanielSchuman June 18, 2022 1 min read

As Congress considering appropriations levels for the Legislative branch for FY2023, we thought it would be useful to compare line items inside the Legislative Branch bill. Below contains the actual funding levels for FY21 and FY 22, the requests published in the president budget, the appropriations levels supported by the subcommittee and full committee as […]

Tags: Appropriations, Legislative Branch

Appropriations, Appropriation Tracking, Advocacy, Blog posts

FY23 Appropriations Bill Text Tracking

By DanielSchuman June 15, 2022 1 min read

It can be, at times, somewhat difficult to track appropriations bill text, report language, and press releases and the legislation goes through its paces. Congress.gov maintains a thorough appropriations page, but as of the time of this writing it still has not been updated for FY2023. It’s UI could also be improved. So we are […]

Tags: Appropriations

First Branch Forecast for July 25, 2022: Après moi, le déluge

House Office Unionization Tracker

Demand Progress Action and Congressional Progressive Staff Association Call on Senate Leadership to Increase Staff Pay Floor to $45,000

First Branch Forecast for July 18, 2022: Accumulation of Facts

Statement on passage of the Periodically Listing Updates to Management (PLUM) Act

First Branch Forecast for July 11, 2022: The Plot Thickens

Event Announcement – The Power of Unions in Congress: Know Your Rights

First Branch Forecast for June 27, 2022: Apropos everything

Demand Progress Proposals Included in FY 2023 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bills and Report

First Branch Forecast for June 21, 2022

Leg Branch Line Items FY 21-23

FY23 Appropriations Bill Text Tracking

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