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

Forecast for November 30, 2020.

By DanielSchuman November 30, 2020 13 min read

THE TOP LINE Agreement? House and Senate appropriators reached a bipartisan agreement last Tuesday on the 302b numbers — the amount of funding available for each appropriations subcommittee — but LOL, we won’t know these numbers until the bill is released. Is there a path to completing the omnibus on time? Kevin McCarthy announced he will oppose the […]

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Continuity and Resiliency, Reports, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Why isn’t the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights protecting Congress during the Pandemic?

By DanielSchuman November 30, 2020 2 min read

Wouldn’t it be good to have an independent office that had the authority to impose a uniform set of mandatory safety and health standards across Capitol Hill? Such an office already exists and Congress is giving them a pass. The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) is the independent, centralized workplace safety and health agency […]

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Appropriations, Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Continuity and Resiliency, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for November 23, 2020.

By DanielSchuman November 23, 2020 12 min read

TOP LINE Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Congress left town as negotiations continue (we hope) on a plethora of should-pass bills. Meanwhile, Pres. Trump is working to undermine the election certification process, thereby increasing the likelihood of a fight in Congress over recognizing President-elect Biden’s victory and further de-legitimizing our political system. Pres.-elect Biden’s unpragmatic genuflection at […]

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Appropriations, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Continuity and Resiliency, Modernization, Rules, Appropriation Tracking, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for November 16, 2020.

By DanielSchuman November 16, 2020 11 min read

TOP LINE The next two months will be a legislative train wreck. On deck are the FY 2021 spending bills, COVID relief, the NDAA, and a ton of pent-up legislation. Notably, Republican Senators finally released draft text for the FY 2021 spending bills with less than a month until a shutdown. In addition, new Members are in […]

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

Forecast For November 9, 2020.

By DanielSchuman November 9, 2020 12 min read

Congratulations on making it through Election Week. We’re going to walk through what to expect during the interregnum and beyond, but first, if you’re new to our little newsletter or are reading a forwarded email, why not subscribe? THE TOP LINE In an unusual election cycle, President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have yet to be […]

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Modernization, Reports, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

November Update: What Items are Due in the Modernization Committee Resolution

By DanielSchuman November 4, 2020 10 min read

In early March, the House passed H.Res 756, adopting modernization recommendations of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. The resolution included 29 recommendations that were unanimously reported by the Fix Congress Committee in 2019. The resolution called on legislative support offices to start a number of projects and report back on how to […]

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

Forecast For November 2, 2020.

By DanielSchuman November 2, 2020 13 min read

THE TOP LINE With so much attention on what will happen when voting wraps up tomorrow, our little newsletter will stay focused on what comes next. (But we will cover implications for Congress if, as Axios suggests is already in the works, Pres. Trump prematurely claims victory and tries to undermine vote counting.) Money problems. Sen. […]

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Accountability and Oversight, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

Forecast for October 26, 2020

By DanielSchuman October 26, 2020 12 min read

THE TOP LINE Pundits, prognosticators, and pols are starting to talk openly about the interregnum between the election and the start of the 117th Congress… and what comes afterward. This NYT opinion piece, for example, outlines a pro-democracy agenda to “end minority rule” and push back on anti-democratic practices undertaken by the Trump administration and its […]

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Continuity and Resiliency, Announcements, Blog posts

Upcoming Webinar: Lawmaking Around the World in the Time of COVID-19

By DanielSchuman October 19, 2020 1 min read

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented legislative challenges unlike anything modern governments have ever seen. In response to COVID-19, legislatures across the world have adapted to remain connected to one another and their constituents, pass emergency legislation to provide relief, and oversee the executive to ensure that funds and programs are effectively delivered. On Thursday at […]

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

Forecast for October 19, 2020

By DanielSchuman October 19, 2020 7 min read

THE TOP LINE Thursday. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a meeting to consider the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barret on Thursday. In addition, there’s a growing effort to push Sen. Feinstein out as the Committee’s Democratic leader after she poorly handled the proceedings. I have a lot to say on what’s happened, so […]

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Rules, Blog posts

How will the House adopt rules for the 117th Congress?

By DanielSchuman October 15, 2020 1 min read

We hosted a webinar on October 14th, 2020, on the process by which the House of Representatives will consider its rules for the 117th Congress and some of the big ideas that have been proposed to modernize those rules. We are pleased to make the video available online as well as publish our slides from […]

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