Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion

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

Forecast for January 7, 2019. All That’s Old Is New Again.

By DanielSchuman January 7, 2019 12 min read

THE TOP LINE The House adopted the most transparent and open rules in my lifetime and by a huge bipartisan majority created a Select Committee on Modernizing Congress. There was a little kerfuffle over Pay-Go and a few surprise votes. More below. The shutdown continues even as the House passed two approps bills that Sen. McConnell refused to bring […]

Tags: Trump Taxes, Diversity and Inclusion, Congressional Research Service, House Ethics Committee, Government Publishing Office, Whistleblower Protections

Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for December 24, 2018. Naughty or Nice.

By DanielSchuman December 23, 2018 10 min read

THE TOP LINE Naughty or nice. Congress is still in session, so here’s a little something to read if you’re still hanging around. Shutdown. For the first time in years, the House and Senate got their approps work done on time and five bills enacted into law. But instead of pushing for the remaining seven, they […]

Tags: Legislation, Office of Congressional Ethics, Congressional Research Service

Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for December 17, 2018. #MeToo Legislation Sent to the President, Sen. Kyl Resigning, and Nancy Pelosi Secures Support for Speaker.

By DanielSchuman December 17, 2018 11 min read

TOP LINE A government shutdown is looming on Friday and it’s all Trump’s fault, just ask him. With 7 approps bills outstanding, and Congress having done it’s homework, will Congress enact 6 bills as written and turn the 7th into a long term CR, kick the can to the next Congress, or something else? Here’s what happens in […]

Tags: War Powers, Cybersecurity, Caucus Rules, Legislation, factions, Foreign Lobbying, Diversity and Inclusion

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

Forecast for December 10, 2018. Term Limits for Committee Chairs, Paying Interns, and a Look at the House IG.

By DanielSchuman December 10, 2018 8 min read

Welcome to an abbreviated First Branch Forecast. Today we release a new report on the House Inspector General — yes, the House has an IG. Among our findings: the House IG used to publish its reports online, but nearly all reports were taken down and there’s little public accounting for the IG’s work. What’s in them?

Tags: Staff Pay, MRA, factions, Caucus Rules

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

Forecast for November 26, 2018. On Deck: House Democratic Leadership Elections and Potential Partial Shutdown.

By DanielSchuman November 26, 2018 7 min read

THE TOP LINE House Dem leadership elections are this week. More below. The Government may partially shut down on December 7 when the CR runs out of gas. The House launched the Office of Employee Advocacy (OOEA) according to a Nov. 5 CAO Dear Colleague. House staffers can learn more by following this internal House link. The OOEA provides legal representation […]

Tags: Congressional Research Service, Staff Pay, Earmarks, factions, Leadership

Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for November 19, 2018. Challenges to House Leadership; Changes to House Rules; and How New Members Will Shape Up.

By DanielSchuman November 18, 2018 13 min read

THE TOP LINE House Dems scheduled leadership elections for next week, and everyone else elected their leadership last week. Details on who was elected and what’s going on with Dems elections are below. A draft House rules summary was unveiled last week (WaPo published it), with potentially major changes in the lower chamber. House rules rarely change in significant […]

Tags: Earmarks, factions, Leadership, War Powers, press freedom

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

Forecast for November 13, 2018. What Did Last Week’s Election Change?

By DanielSchuman November 13, 2018 8 min read

THE TOP LINE What did last week’s election change? The House will have at least 100 new faces and the average age dropped by eight years. Three Democrats lost their seats in the Senate, but it appears that, at most, they will lose one seat overall, with the parties in that chamber becoming more ideologically homogeneous. Demographically speaking, 101 women were […]

Tags: Office of Congressional Ethics

AI and Emerging Technology, Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for October 29, 2018. Child Care, Congressional Departures, the CAA, APIs, and Voicemail.

By DanielSchuman October 29, 2018 7 min read

THE TOP LINE Capitol Hill child care centers that prioritize Congressional staff have only 240 spots and a 550 deep wait list, according to a new Demand Progress report. Roll Call’s Katherine Tully-McManus covered efforts to expand availability to serve the 15,000 staffers on Capitol hill; even if expansion plans come to fruition, they would not meet […]

Tags: Congressional Research Service, Earmarks, White Supremacy, Political Violence, Cybersecurity, Government Publishing Office

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

Forecast for October 22, 2018. The Tale of Congress’s Incapacity, Plus Judiciary Moves Nominees in Recess.

By DanielSchuman October 22, 2018 8 min read

THE TOP LINE Decades of institutional deterioration has left lawmakers in the dark on technology. The Lincoln Network’s Zach Graves told the tale in ten charts. (We helped). Bookmark it and visit Future Congress for more. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced six judicial nominations while the Senate was in recess in a further destruction of institutional norms. Nomination hearings during recess […]

Tags: Inspector General, Freedom of Information Act, US Capitol Police, Earmarks, Whistleblower Protections, Cybersecurity, press freedom

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

Congressional Child Care Options Are Grossly Inadequate

By DanielSchuman October 12, 2018 4 min read

It is hard enough to be a congressional staffer, but if you have young children the problem is magnified. Washington, D.C. is the most expensive place in the United States to raise a family, congressional staff work on average 53 hours-per-week when Congress is in session, and child care options in the nation’s capital can […]

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

10.12.18

Congressional Child Care Options Are Grossly Inadequate

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

Forecast for September 17, 2018. Celebrating Constitution Day and Reforming the House Rules.

By DanielSchuman September 17, 2018 9 min read

THE TOP LINE Happy birthday to the US Constitution, signed 231 years ago today. In its honor, we are pleased to publish online the Constitution Annotated, a treatise commissioned by Congress that explains the Constitution as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. By we, I mean Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, GovTrack.us, and Demand Progress. Reforming the House’s […]

Tags: Staff Pay, Diversity and Inclusion, Foreign Lobbying, Earmarks, factions, Access to Court Proceedings

Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion

Forecast for January 7, 2019. All That’s Old Is New Again.

Forecast for December 24, 2018. Naughty or Nice.

Forecast for December 17, 2018. #MeToo Legislation Sent to the President, Sen. Kyl Resigning, and Nancy Pelosi Secures Support for Speaker.

Forecast for December 10, 2018. Term Limits for Committee Chairs, Paying Interns, and a Look at the House IG.

Forecast for November 26, 2018. On Deck: House Democratic Leadership Elections and Potential Partial Shutdown.

Forecast for November 19, 2018. Challenges to House Leadership; Changes to House Rules; and How New Members Will Shape Up.

Forecast for November 13, 2018. What Did Last Week’s Election Change?

Forecast for October 29, 2018. Child Care, Congressional Departures, the CAA, APIs, and Voicemail.

Forecast for October 22, 2018. The Tale of Congress’s Incapacity, Plus Judiciary Moves Nominees in Recess.

Congressional Child Care Options Are Grossly Inadequate

Congressional Child Care Options Are Grossly Inadequate

Forecast for September 17, 2018. Celebrating Constitution Day and Reforming the House Rules.

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