Appropriations

Accountability and Oversight, AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for March 2, 2020.

By DanielSchuman March 2, 2020 13 min read

ON YOUR RADAR Approps season is firing on all cylinders, with many Members schedules double- or triple-booked. It’s running us ragged, too. (At least we can help you keep track of testimony deadlines.) Maybe Congress should take a real look at fixing its hearing schedule? Anyway— Leg Branch heard testimony from LOC and GAO this past week, and there’s news […]

Tags: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Government Accountability Office, Surveillance, Science & Tech, Leg Support Agencies, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Cybersecurity

Appropriations, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for February 25, 2020.

By DanielSchuman February 25, 2020 4 min read

We’ve been busy writing reports and appropriations requests, so welcome to an abbreviated and belated First Branch Forecast. IN BRIEF House Rules are a way for lawmakers to set priorities & implement reforms. We tracked the status of reforms in the House Rules package: see the results. Approps season is in full swing. Roll Call has a draft House […]

Tags: US Capitol Police, Freedom of Information Act, White Supremacy, Leg Support Agencies, Political Violence

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Appropriation Tracking, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for February 18, 2020.

By DanielSchuman February 18, 2020 14 min read

ON YOUR RADAR A nice breather. Both the House and Senate are in recess this week. Whistleblower Ombudsman. Congratulations to Shanna Devine, who was just named the House of Representatives’ first Whistleblower Ombudsman. The nonpartisan, independent office, established 14 months ago as part of the House rules package and filled this past week — with bipartisan support […]

Tags: Whistleblower Protections, War Powers, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Office of Legal Counsel, Government Accountability Office, Department of Justice, US Capitol Police, Science & Tech, Leg Support Agencies, Caucus Rules

Appropriations, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

The Undermining of Congress

By DanielSchuman February 17, 2020 2 min read

The Legislative branch plays a central role in our democracy, but for decades Congress has systematically underfunded congressional operations as compared to the rest of government. The chart below shows discretionary non-defense discretionary spending from 1995-2020 (in constant dollars). During that quarter-century, non-defense discretionary spending increased by 58%, but spending for the legislative branch increased […]

Tags: Budget, Congressional Ops, Senate, House

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast For February 10, 2020.

By DanielSchuman February 10, 2020 8 min read

ON YOUR RADAR Shedding light on the Justice Department’s OLC Opinions is the topic of today’s Transparency Caucus briefing, set for 2pm in 1310 Longworth. RSVP to Hannah.Mansbach@mail.house.gov. Here’s why we think OLC opinion transparency is important plus a refresher on legislative efforts concerning OLC opinions. Also, read Mike Stern’s latest on OLC. Oversight hearings […]

Tags: War Powers, Political Violence, Budget, Leg Support Agencies, Science & Tech, Earmarks, US Capitol Police, Foreign Lobbying, Staff Clearances, Congressional Research Service, Office of Legal Counsel

Appropriations, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

2020 Legislative Branch Wish List

By DanielSchuman February 4, 2020 9 min read

The passage of the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill for FY 2020 back in December started the clock on a number of projects and reports inside the legislative branch. We took a look at the requests, broke them down by office, and summarized the deadlines, which are drawn from the House committee report, the Senate committee […]

Tags: House, Senate, Congressional Ops, Leg Support Agencies

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, Rules, Appropriation Tracking, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for January 27, 2020.

By DanielSchuman January 27, 2020 9 min read

THE TOP LINE The “Senate is hiding from all of us,” writes longtime hill reporter Kathy Kiely, who said “the current security scheme appears designed to protect lawmakers from reporters’ questions.” The restrictions on press access, which we oppose, are a black eye on the Senate and a provocation for future restrictions. Care about leg branch funding? We’ve […]

Tags: War Powers, Whistleblower Protections, Science & Tech, Earmarks, Office of Legal Counsel

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

Forecast for January 21, 2020.

By DanielSchuman January 21, 2020 12 min read

House Members are in their districts this week but the Senate is in for impeachment trial proceedings, which start today. Senators are the deciders, but they are not jurors. Before we start, it’s worth rereading MLK’s letter from a Birmingham jail. I found this section resonant: “I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means […]

Tags: Office of Legal Counsel, Freedom of Information Act, Government Accountability Office, Staff Pay, Remote Voting, Earmarks, War Powers, press freedom

Appropriations, Appropriation Tracking, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

25 Years of Legislative Branch Appropriations

By DanielSchuman January 21, 2020 1 min read

Every year Congress determines exactly how much money will be made available to the Legislative Branch and the purpose for which it can be spent. The Legislative Branch Appropriations bills directs congressional spending, line-item by line-item — but, alas, the instructions are published as prose, can run for dozens of pages, and it is difficult […]

Tags: Data, Leg Support Agencies

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

Forecast for January 13, 2020.

By DanielSchuman January 13, 2020 8 min read

THE TOP LINE 8 House Dems voted to cede Congress’s constitutional role in matters of war and peace by voting ‘No’ on the House war powers resolution while Rep. Amash plus GOP Reps. Gaetz, Massie, and Rooney voted ‘Yes’ to protect our system of checks-and-balances. Notable, in addition to the vast majority of Republicans who likely would have voted differently […]

Tags: War Powers, Budget, Foreign Lobbying, Office of Legal Counsel

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

Forecast for January 6, 2020.

By DanielSchuman January 6, 2020 16 min read

Welcome back. An astonishing amount has happened over the break, so let’s dive back in. THE TOP LINE The US assassinated Iranian Maj. Gen Qassem Soleimani in what may be a violation of US and international law — in flagrant violation of Congress’s war powers. Much more on this below in the section entitled “Wag the […]

Tags: Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, Government Accountability Office, SCOTUS, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Whistleblower Protections, War Powers

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

Forecast for December 23, 2019

By DanielSchuman December 23, 2019 14 min read

Happy Holidays Everyone. 2019 has been a year like no other. Thank you for staying with us throughout it all. We’re going to take a week off and will be back in the new year. Go easy on us for this week’s newsletter. 🙂

Tags: Freedom of Information Act, SCOTUS, NDAA, Access to Court Proceedings

Forecast for March 2, 2020.

Forecast for February 25, 2020.

Forecast for February 18, 2020.

The Undermining of Congress

Forecast For February 10, 2020.

2020 Legislative Branch Wish List

Forecast for January 27, 2020.

Forecast for January 21, 2020.

25 Years of Legislative Branch Appropriations

Forecast for January 13, 2020.

Forecast for January 6, 2020.

Forecast for December 23, 2019

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