Modernization

Document Type:
Issue:
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for May 20, 2019.

By DanielSchuman May 20, 2019 8 min read

DESCRIBING WHY CONGRESS IS BROKEN can be hard, but this awesome claymation video helps. Seriously, it’s better than schoolhouse rock. (Thanks CS Monitor). ON STARTING IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS, PELOSI’S STRATEGY HAS BEEN DELAY, DELAY, DELAY. But with Rep. Justin Amash’s statement this weekend that the “Mueller’s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet […]

Tags: ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for May 13, 2019.

By DanielSchuman May 13, 2019 16 min read

THIS IS YET ANOTHER long winded, discursive First Branch Forecast. What’s inside? • What happened when the Modernization Committee examined transparency as a means to strengthen Congress? • What exactly was included in the leg branch’s budget bill? The contents may surprise you. • Oversight Wars: the phantom privilege • Freedom of the Press • Swamp […]

Tags: , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for May 6, 2019. So It’s Finally Time for Infrastructure Week?

By DanielSchuman May 6, 2019 12 min read

BIG PICTURE: SPENDING ON THE HOUSE House Leg Branch Approps Subcommittee favorably reported its FY 2020 approps bill that contains a ton of great provisions. Oddly, Republican members spoke favorably about the bill during the proceedings even as they voted against it, suggesting that their opposition had to do with political concerns unrelated to the work of the […]

Tags: , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for April 29, 2019. It’s off to work we go.

By DanielSchuman April 29, 2019 9 min read

CONGRESS IS BACK FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS. Buckle up, it’s gonna be bumpy. The Scylla and Charybdis of our odyssey will be Appropriations and the Trump investigation(s). It’s possible that the Trump administration’s refusal to meaningfully cooperate with subpoenas and accede to requests to testify will become fused to the appropriations process, as appropriations […]

Tags: ,
Continue Reading
AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for April 1, 2019. Every Day Is April’s Fools Day.

By DanielSchuman April 1, 2019 12 min read

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMIN (FRANKLINS): Last week the House approved H. Res 245, which contains House Admin’s recommendations on how to allot funds amongst all the committees (except approps, which is funded separately). The upshot: flat funding for everyone, and a smaller-than-expected amount for the Fix Congress Committee. We break down the numbers and analyze them here. With an […]

Tags: , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for March 25, 2019. Only the best and most serious people.

By DanielSchuman March 25, 2019 10 min read

MUELLER LITE? Recess is over, Congress is back, and appropriations season is in full swing, but what is everyone talking about? Sigh. As my kids would say, “BORING!” Let’s talk about Congress instead. The House and Senate are back for three weeks. PROPOSED HOUSE COMMITTEE ALLOTMENTS (i.e., how much the House will spend on each of its […]

Tags: , , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for March 11, 2019. The Not at SXSW Edition.

By DanielSchuman March 11, 2019 8 min read

IT’S SUNSHINE WEEK, devoted to all things transparency, and there are a ton of Congress tie-ins. On the House floor, set for a vote this week, are: the Access to Congressionally Mandated Report Act (which requires all agency reports sent to Congress to be online on a central website); the Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2019 (to improve transparency of the […]

Tags: , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for February 25, 2019. Your Salad Days.

By DanielSchuman February 25, 2019 6 min read

WORKING IN CONGRESS again is in the news, starting with Sen. Klobuchar receiving a drubbing for her ongoing mistreatment of staff. The New York Times tells a gross story of Sen. Klobuchar and a comb, but less salaciously describes her throwing objects and requesting staff return money earned during parental leave if they leave the office. The […]

Tags:
Continue Reading
Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for February 19, 2019. Never Waste an Emergency

By DanielSchuman February 19, 2019 6 min read

THE HOUSE COMMITTEE TASKED WITH MODERNIZING CONGRESS  has 12 newly appointed members, an initial $50,000 budget (through March), and less than one year to issue recommendations. There’s little doubt that Congress must invest in its own brain power and modernize its technology. The select committee isn’t Congress’s only hope, as the oversight committees (House Admin + Senate Rules) and leg branch […]

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for February 4, 2019. Executive Time.

By DanielSchuman February 4, 2019 9 min read

THE TOP LINE H.R. 1, the pro-voting & ethics strengthening bill, is getting negative reviews from anti-anti-corruption politicians (Mitch McConnell), court-identified fabulists (Hans Spakovsky), and K street lobbyists. It’s also the subject of an Oversight hearing on Wednesday. Why won’t House Dems release their caucus rules? Progressives & grassroots orgs are pushing for their publication while Democratic Caucus chair Hakeem Jeffries dodges press questions. Rep. Jeffries didn’t respond to […]

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for January 22, 2019. Champagne Wishes & Caviar Dreams.

By DanielSchuman January 22, 2019 10 min read

TOP LINE In a lengthy and insightful essay, noted Holocaust historian Christopher Browning drew ominous parallels between the destruction of the Weimar Republic by the “old right” and what’s happening today. The most gripping section is his analysis of the old Republic, but this section is striking as well: “If the US has someone whom historians will look […]

Tags: , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for January 14, 2019. Snow Day.

By DanielSchuman January 14, 2019 13 min read

THE TOP LINE “Why is Congress so dumb?” Rep. Bill Pascrell’s op-ed does a masterful job of summarizing how the self-lobotomization of Congress caused a decline in congressional expertise and empowered special interests. It’s why the new House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress is a big deal and represents an opportunity for Congress to stand up for itself. The last time […]

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading