Appropriations

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

2.21.23

Coalition Urges Committee on House Admin to Increase its Funding

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

11.30.22

Demand Progress and Lincoln Network Issue Bipartisan House Rules Recommendations Calling for Rebalancing Power in the 118th Congress

10.11.22

Recommendations to Update the Democratic Caucus Rules for the 118th Congress

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Agencies Get Marching Orders on Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act

By DanielSchuman September 6, 2022 4 min read

The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act, which Demand Progress supported and became law last year, is coming into its own. The law requires (1) the publication of all agency Congressional Justifications on USASpending.org within two weeks of their submission to a house of Congress; (2) CJ publication at a vanity URL on the agency website; […]

Tags: Budget Justifications

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

First Branch Forecast for August 8, 2022: It’s recess?

By DanielSchuman August 8, 2022 8 min read

TOP LINE This week. It’s recess-ish. The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act reconciliation package over the weekend and the House is expected to briefly reconvene on Friday, August 12 to pass that legislation and perhaps a few other bills. The events of the past week highlight that normal spending processes rarely go by the book; that ethics and […]

Tags: ethics, Congressional Unionization, debt limit, Earmarks, War Powers

First Branch Forecast for February 27, 2023: Videodome

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

Coalition Urges Committee on House Admin to Increase its Funding

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.?

Demand Progress and Lincoln Network Issue Bipartisan House Rules Recommendations Calling for Rebalancing Power in the 118th Congress

Recommendations to Update the Democratic Caucus Rules for the 118th Congress

Agencies Get Marching Orders on Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act

First Branch Forecast for August 8, 2022: It’s recess?

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