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

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: Office of Congressional Ethics, Legislation, 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: Diversity and Inclusion, Foreign Lobbying, factions, Legislation, Caucus Rules, Cybersecurity, War Powers

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

Ethics and Influence, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for December 3, 2018. Shutdown Potentially Postponed, Plus Leadership and Caucus Election Results.

By DanielSchuman December 3, 2018 8 min read

THE TOP LINE George H.W. Bush will lie in state at the Capitol from Monday at 5 p.m. until Wednesday at 7 a.m. with a bicameral arrival ceremony Monday morning. — The executive branch will be closed on Wednesday and Bush’s funeral service will take place at the National Cathedral at 11; no official word on when the House or Senate will be in […]

Tags: Leadership, factions, Staff Clearances

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

Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Security, Continuity and Resiliency, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for October 15, 2018. Preparing Congressional Offices and Committees for Transition.

By DanielSchuman October 15, 2018 7 min read

THE TOP LINE The Senate joined the House in adjourning until mid-November. Most members and many staff are now working on the campaigns (with the staff “on vacation”), others are taking much deserved vacations, and some are working on plans should the House flip. This includes drafting new rules for the chamber, new committee rules, new […]

Tags: Diversity and Inclusion, Cybersecurity

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

Forecast for October 9, 2018. FutureCongress, Plus “Popular Bills” Can Be Substantive, Too.

By DanielSchuman October 9, 2018 9 min read

LEGISLATIVE CAPACITY That Congress’s tech savvy hasn’t kept up with the times isn’t exactly breaking news, but we should highlight that 20 bipartisan advocacy groups led by Demand Progress and the Lincoln Network launched Future Congress this past week, a resource hub for efforts to improve science and technology expertise in the legislative branch. Do 218 co-sponsors make a difference […]

Tags: Office of Legal Counsel, Library of Congress, Freedom of Information Act, US Capitol Police, White Supremacy, Trump Taxes, social media, Political Violence, Cybersecurity

Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for October 1, 2018. Briefing on House and Party Rules, Plus the Launch of TechCongress.

By DanielSchuman October 1, 2018 8 min read

THE TOP LINE On Thursday we briefed congressional staff on House, committee, and caucus reform proposals with experts from Issue One, Georgetown, and the Brookings Institution. Incidentally, party rules are very important: for example, the earmark ban and chairman term limits are both Republican party rules. Learn more about how we’d make the House work better in our […]

Tags: Science & Tech, Legislation

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 December 3, 2018. Shutdown Potentially Postponed, Plus Leadership and Caucus Election Results.

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.

Forecast for October 15, 2018. Preparing Congressional Offices and Committees for Transition.

Forecast for October 1, 2018. Briefing on House and Party Rules, Plus the Launch of TechCongress.

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