Accountability and Oversight

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Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Continuity and Resiliency, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for April 20, 2020

By DanielSchuman April 19, 2020 13 min read

TOP LINE The House inches forward on remote deliberations. Speaker Pelosi belatedly flipped her position and now supports a very limited form of remote voting, although it remains to be seen whether she will support restarting the committees and allowing remote deliberations on the floor — and whether she needs to bring members back to […]

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

New Data on House Staff Pay and Retention

By DanielSchuman April 13, 2020 2 min read

Congressional staff are generally overworked and underpaid. Talented employees with vast institutional knowledge are eventually forced to choose between Congress and a sustainable lifestyle; the result is a Legislative Branch brain drain with employees leaving for better paying jobs in the Executive Branch or private sector. On top of that, Congress has a diversity problem: […]

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Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Continuity and Resiliency, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for April 13, 2020

By DanielSchuman April 13, 2020 12 min read

It has been another tough week just about everywhere. We hope you and yours are staying safe. This newsletter is becoming harder and harder to write, but we hope it is helpful as we work together to keep our democracy. CONTINUITY OF CONGRESS We launched a website that gathers all the major resources and developments on […]

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

Congress Can Save Taxpayers Billions By Using Data Science to Stop Improper Payments

By DanielSchuman April 7, 2020 4 min read

By Maggi Molina and Dan Lips Congress faces major challenges in 2020—including the Coronavirus pandemic and addressing its significant disruptions to our way of life. With the Congressional Budget Office already forecasting trillion dollar federal deficits through 2030, lawmakers may have less flexibility to authorize new spending to address these problems. One way for Congress to improve […]

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Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Continuity and Resiliency, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for April 6, 2020.

By DanielSchuman April 6, 2020 12 min read

TOP LINE It’s been another never-ending week. We hope that you’re staying healthy and staying at home. This issue focuses on continuity of Congress, protecting whistleblowers, mass surveillance, and coronavirus “oversight.”  (Hey, if you’re regularly reading our little newsletter, why not subscribe if you have not already? It’s free…)

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Accountability and Oversight, Continuity and Resiliency, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for March 30, 2020.

By DanielSchuman March 30, 2020 17 min read

TOP LINE In case you need a reminder…it’s Monday again; we hope everyone is feeling well and hanging in there. This week’s First Branch Forecast focuses on continuity of Congress and the emergency Coronavirus bill, which are inextricably linked. We also have some important reads in our Oversight & Transparency + Odds & Ends sections […]

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Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Continuity and Resiliency, Ethics and Influence, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for March 23, 2020

By DanielSchuman March 23, 2020 16 min read

The Pope banned public masses, closed Holy Week services, and is encouraging “spiritual communion” when it is unsafe to receive it in person; the New York Stock Exchange has rushed a rule into effect to facilitate electronic auctions in light of the temporary closure of the trading floor; and yet the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader […]

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

Forecast for March 16, 2020.

By DanielSchuman March 16, 2020 12 min read

TOP LINE Congress is open for business, but for how long? The Capitol Complex and Library of Congress are not allowing visitors through April 1st, although there are some loopholes for business visitors. The House put out telework guidance for offices — but no uniform telework requirement — and went into its district work period; the Senate cancelled its district work […]

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

Forecast for March 9, 2020.

By DanielSchuman March 9, 2020 11 min read

TOP LINE There’s more news than can fit in our little newsletter. The House Rules Committee did its part to encourage the Article I Renaissance (to steal a phrase from Lorelei Kelly) with a nearly four-hour hearing spiced with thoughtful expert testimony examining how Congress’ role has been diminished over decades and how to reassert congressional authority. (How, […]

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Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Security, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Capitol Police Round Up: Week Ending March 5, 2020

By DanielSchuman March 6, 2020 1 min read

For the week ending March 5, 2020, there were 10 Capitol Police incidents reported; 14 individuals arrested. There were 7 traffic related incidents, including 3 invalid permit arrests. Capitol Police arrested 4 individuals who were demonstrating during a committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Friday, February 28 around 9 am.  Here’s how […]

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