by Daniel Schuman and Zach Graves Last week, bipartisan bicameral legislation was introduced by Reps. Mark Takano (D-CA) and Bill Foster (D-IL), and Sens. Maizie Hirono (D-HI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), aimed at strengthening Congress’s ability to understand science and technology policy issues. (H.R. 4426, S. 2509) We welcome these developments and are encouraged to […]
This week’s First Branch Forecast is a big one, so here’s your guide to what’s inside: • Who’s the turkey now? The CR sets up a pre-Turkey-day approps showdown; meanwhile, the Fix Congress committee held a hearing on fixing the budget process. • Congress’s power of the purse is its greatest weapon against executive overreach; more below on how the […]
THE TOP LINE Are you pondering what I’m pondering? In this case, how would a new OTA decide what to study? How do Senate committees get their funding and where does it go? The take-aways: Senate committee funding is at an 18-year low; it’s really good to be an appropriator; and Senate committees are in better shape than House […]
The likelihood of Congress reinstating a science and technology assessment office is at an all time high, but should such an agency be reconstituted, how should it decide what issues to address? Congress’s other legislative support agencies — the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service, and the Congressional Budget Office — use various mechanisms […]
THE TOP LINE The House and Senate return on September 9th, which is 3 full weeks before the start of the next fiscal year. Both chambers must pass and reconcile all 12 spending bills by October 1 to avoid a government shutdown. So far the Senate hasn’t given notice of any approps markups. The House […]
The House is out for August recess; the Senate has one week to go. Here’s what you need to know for the week of July 29, 2019. SELECT COMMITTEE GRAND SLAM The Fix Congress Committee adopted two-dozen recommendations last week and also turned their May recommendations into H. Res 526. A super-majority of the committee is required to adopt recommendations; […]
The last week before recess is always crazy and this week will be no exception. We apologize for skipping the Forecast over the last two weeks, but we were literally and figuratively underwater. ON THE RADAR Negotiations over appropriations levels and the debt ceiling must result in a long-term agreement, a short term agreement, Congress returning […]
Last week the Bulk Data Task Force (BDTF) convened internal and external stakeholders to discuss, you guessed it, congressional data. Established in 2012, the BDTF brings together parties from across the legislative branch—including the House Clerk, the Secretary of the Senate, Government Publishing Office (GPO), Library of Congress (LOC), and more—as well as external expert […]
CONGRESS IN BRIEF • Apparent mismanagement at CRS has created a 19% annual turnover rate in its law division and a lack of diversity in the agency’s senior leadership, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Last week’s House Admin hearing on CRS — the first in more than a decade — shed welcome light on problems facing Congress’s […]
CONGRESS IN BRIEF • Congress’s staff retention and diversity issues will be the subject of a Fix Congress committee hearing on Thursday. • The Congressional Research Service will be subject to a rare (and much needed) oversight hearing before the House Administration Committee on Thursday. It’s time to re-read Kevin Kosar’s “Why I Quit the Congressional Research Service.” • Approps on […]
CONGRESS IN BRIEF • The Approps minibus will hit the House floor this week. Several hundred amendments were offered for Rules Committee consideration, including 38 for leg branch; H. Rules meets Monday at 5 and again on Tuesday. Anyone offering amendments to stop the member pay adjustment from taking place should read this and then find something useful to do instead. Don’t just […]
HOLD ON TO YOUR “OUT OF OFFICE” RESPONSES • Congress doesn’t have the resources right now to take on Trump and House Dem Leadership isn’t fighting to acquire them. • The Fix Congress Committee unanimously approved five measures to improve congressional transparency and accountability. • Oversight wars: the military is trying to hold info back from Congress; McGahn may be held […]