Modernization

Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Security, Modernization, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for November 25, 2019.

By DanielSchuman November 25, 2019 11 min read

TOP LINE With hours to spare lawmakers passed a short-term funding agreement to keep the government running through December 20th, but in doing so unnecessarily violated regular order and rammed through an unrelated authorization provision. Also, word is out the House and Senate reached an agreement on the 302(b)s, but we don’t know what the agreement is. […]

Tags: Inspector General, Government Accountability Office, US Capitol Police, SCOTUS, Surveillance, Science & Tech, Legislation, Political Violence, Transparency in Government Act

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

Forecast for November 18, 2019.

By DanielSchuman November 18, 2019 14 min read

Take a break from wall-to-wall impeachment coverage and read about what else is happening in today’s First Branch Forecast. TOP LINE What’s the best way for Congress to strengthen its tech policy chops? The National Academy of Public Administration issued their recommendations in a new report, “Science and Technology Policy Assessment: A Congressionally Directed Review.” Experts […]

Tags: House Ethics Committee, US Capitol Police, Science & Tech, Trump Taxes, War Powers, Access to Court Proceedings, Government Publishing Office

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

Forecast for November 11, 2019.

By DanielSchuman November 11, 2019 12 min read

PRE-RAMBLE With impeachment and the election season heating up, I want to talk directly about this newsletter. We focus on building a strong, modern, resilient Congress and stay away from items that are merely partisan or about political advantage. But questions arising from the operation of the legislative branch have become closely intertwined with the […]

Tags: US Capitol Police, Surveillance, Science & Tech, Whistleblower Protections, Access to Court Proceedings

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

Forecast for November 4, 2019.

By DanielSchuman November 4, 2019 12 min read

THE TOP LINE It’s a little off topic, but there is legislation to allow states to elect to observe daylight savings time for the duration of the year. It’s HR 1601 and has 13 co-sponsors (from both parties). Just saying. APPROPRIATIONS Another continuing resolution seems almost inevitable to keep the government open beyond Thanksgiving, when the current CR runs out, […]

Tags: Congressional Research Service, US Capitol Police, Caucus Rules, Whistleblower Protections

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

Forecast for October 28, 2019.

By DanielSchuman October 28, 2019 12 min read

CONGRESS IN BRIEF Government funding runs out by Thanksgiving and lawmakers still haven’t agreed on 302(b) allocations. The Senate will take up a package of four “non-controversial” spending bills this week (Ag, CJS, Interior & Transportation), but there’s no consensus on top line numbers. And now there’s talk about another CR until March — which keeps everyone frozen […]

Tags: Office of Legal Counsel, Staff Clearances, Science & Tech, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Whistleblower Protections

Accountability and Oversight, AI and Emerging Technology, Modernization, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Recap of the 2019 Legislative Data and Transparency Conference

By DanielSchuman October 25, 2019 10 min read

Last week internal and external Congressional stakeholders came together for the seventh annual Legislative Data and Transparency Conference. We’ve recapped them all. The bipartisan conference was incredibly well run, and did a fantastic job convening internal and external congressional groups to promote engaging and well-executed events (detailed in the image below). You can check out […]

Tags: Data, Congressional Ops

Modernization, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Going Digital: LOC and GPO Embark On Project to Digitize U.S House and Senate Reports.

By DanielSchuman October 24, 2019 2 min read

The Law Library of Congress (LOC) and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) have announced a collaborative decade long project to digitize House and Senate reports compiled in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, an official publication dating back to 1817. Traditionally only available in print versions in Federal Depository Libraries throughout the U.S. or for […]

Tags: Library of Congress, Leg Support Agencies, Government Publishing Office

Accountability and Oversight, AI and Emerging Technology, Modernization, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Drafting Legislation Just Got Easier. Introducing BillToText.com

By DanielSchuman October 23, 2019 2 min read

Drafting legislation in Congress can be a daunting process. Typically, staffers provide an outline of the desired bill to the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC), and an OLC attorney drafts the legislation. This often is an iterative process, with OLC asking questions and congressional staff updating their ideas. This process can create problems for staff […]

Tags: Congressional Ops, Legislation

AI and Emerging Technology, Modernization, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Bulk Data Task Force Reports Major Strides at October 2019 Meeting

By DanielSchuman October 23, 2019 8 min read

The Bulk Data Task Force (BDTF) is essentially the justice league of legislative data. The task force convenes each quarter, bringing together the people in charge of managing Legislative Branch data—like the House Clerk, Secretary of the Senate, GPO, and Library of Congress—as well as outside stakeholders. Together the group works to make legislative data […]

Tags: Congressional Data Task Force, Data, Congressional Ops

Accountability and Oversight, AI and Emerging Technology, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for October 21, 2019

By DanielSchuman October 21, 2019 10 min read

ELIJAH CUMMINGS Elijah Cummings has died. He rightly has been lauded for his many achievements and common decency; we remember him as a champion for open and accountable government and his tireless efforts to build a more perfect union. He will lie in state in the rotunda on Thursday; his funeral is Friday. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. CONGRESS IN BRIEF The House is in for the next 2 […]

Tags: Congressional Research Service, Diversity and Inclusion, Congressional Data, Legislation, Government Publishing Office

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

Forecast for October 7, 2019

By DanielSchuman October 7, 2019 12 min read

TOP LINE The impeachment inquiry is underway — so why don’t members have a sufficiently-cleared staff to help them do their jobs? (They should.) By the way, this Ryan Grimm story on why the Democratic caucus moved towards impeachment is the best one out there. RSVP for the Legislative Data & Transparency Conference, set for Thursday October 17th. Hosted by House Admin in […]

Tags: Office of Legal Counsel, Congressional Research Service, Diversity and Inclusion, Science & Tech

AI and Emerging Technology, Modernization, Announcements, Blog posts

7th Annual House Legislative Data and Transparency Conference Announced

By DanielSchuman September 30, 2019 1 min read

The seventh annual Legislative Data and Transparency Conference has been announced! On Thursday October 17th, agencies, data users, and transparency advocates will come together to discuss Congress’s efforts to make legislative information available to the public as data. The conference covers what’s working well, what’s not, and provides an opportunity to hear from and meet […]

Tags: Data, Congressional Ops, Leg Support Agencies

Forecast for November 25, 2019.

Forecast for November 18, 2019.

Forecast for November 11, 2019.

Forecast for November 4, 2019.

Forecast for October 28, 2019.

Recap of the 2019 Legislative Data and Transparency Conference

Going Digital: LOC and GPO Embark On Project to Digitize U.S House and Senate Reports.

Drafting Legislation Just Got Easier. Introducing BillToText.com

Bulk Data Task Force Reports Major Strides at October 2019 Meeting

Forecast for October 21, 2019

Forecast for October 7, 2019

7th Annual House Legislative Data and Transparency Conference Announced

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