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

First Branch Forecast for April 11, 2022: Fox on Stocks

By DanielSchuman April 11, 2022 28 min read

TOP LINE This week. The House and Senate are in recess for two weeks and not a moment too soon, with many Members of Congress reporting they’ve tested positive for COVID-19 and, we suspect, many others failing to make a public announcement. Mandatory mask wearing should return to the halls of Congress, positive tests should be recorded and […]

Tags: Government Accountability Office, Staff Pay, Staff Clearances, Congressional Unionization, Foreign Lobbying, House Ethics Committee, US Capitol Police, SCOTUS, PRESS Act, Earmarks, Budget Justifications, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Cybersecurity

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

First Branch Forecast for April 4, 2022: 4/04 Resolution Not Found

By DanielSchuman April 4, 2022 19 min read

TOP LINE On the calendar. The Senate and House are in today. The week before recess is often a whirlwind of activity and this week is no exception. In the committees, we have four — four! — House Leg branch appropriations hearings, a ModCom hearing on Continuity of Congress, a House Admin STOCK Act hearing, and … the Congressional Hackathon […]

Tags: Office of Legal Counsel, PLUM Act, Freedom of Information Act, Government Accountability Office, Staff Clearances, Congressional Unionization, US Capitol Police, Earmarks, Legislation, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights

Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, Appropriation Tracking, Announcements, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Key Policy Provisions Included in the FY 2022 Legislative Branch Bill and Joint Explanatory Statement

By DanielSchuman April 3, 2022 27 min read

President Biden signed the FY 2022 appropriations omnibus bill into law on March 15th, 2022. Included in the omnibus package was the FY 2022 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, which contains dozens of policy provisions that aim to strengthen congressional capacity, oversight, technology, and modernization. This legislation signifies a monumental investment in restoring the Legislative branch. […]

Tags: Library of Congress, US Capitol Police, Diversity and Inclusion, House Intern Resource Office, Staff Pay

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

First Branch Forecast for March 21, 2022: Not the Supremes

By DanielSchuman March 21, 2022 18 min read

Welcome‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌First‌ ‌Branch‌ ‌Forecast,‌ ‌your‌ ‌regular‌ ‌look‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌Legislative‌ ‌branch‌ ‌and‌ government ‌transparency.‌ ‌Tell ‌your‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ subscribe. TOP LINE This week. The Senate is in; the House is out. This week, much attention will focus on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on SCOTUS nominee Hon. Ketanji Brown Jackson. Last week was packed with Sunshine […]

Tags: Office of Legal Counsel, Freedom of Information Act, Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, Staff Pay, Congressional Unionization, US Capitol Police, January 6, Congressional Transparency Caucus, Whistleblower Protections, Political Violence, Advisory Committee on Transparency

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

First Branch Forecast for March 7, 2022

By DanielSchuman March 7, 2022 17 min read

Welcome‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌First‌ ‌Branch‌ ‌Forecast,‌ ‌your‌ ‌regular‌ ‌look‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌Legislative‌ ‌branch‌ ‌and‌ government ‌transparency.‌ ‌Tell ‌your‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ subscribe. TOP LINE The House and Senate are both in session today. This week Congress will attempt to pass the spending omnibus — which may include emergency supplementals for Ukraine and Covid-19 — before government funding expires Friday. We’re keeping our eyes […]

Tags: Staff Pay, Congressional Unionization, Diversity and Inclusion, US Capitol Police, January 6, SCOTUS, Congressional Data Task Force, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Proxy Voting

Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for February 28, 2022

By DanielSchuman February 28, 2022 6 min read

TOP LINE Calendar. The Senate is back today; the House is back tonight. We’re watching Wednesday’s House Admin hearing on unionization, the State of the Union is on Tuesday, and Demand Progress is co-hosting a panel discussion on presidential emergency powers on Wednesday (RSVP here) — ICYMI, lawmakers wrote this letter calling for an AUMF […]

Tags: Freedom of Information Act, Congressional Unionization, House Digital Service

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

First Branch Forecast for February 22, 2022: The twos

By DanielSchuman February 22, 2022 11 min read

Welcome‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌First‌ ‌Branch‌ ‌Forecast,‌ ‌your‌ ‌regular‌ ‌look‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌Legislative‌ ‌branch‌ ‌and‌ government ‌transparency.‌ ‌Tell ‌your‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ subscribe. TOP LINE Happy recess. Last week the Senate managed to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government through March 11. Apparently appropriators have reached an agreement on the top line numbers for the appropriations subcommittees, […]

Tags: Congressional Unionization, US Capitol Police, January 6, Proxy Voting

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

First Branch Forecast for February 14, 2022

By DanielSchuman February 14, 2022 19 min read

Welcome‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌First‌ ‌Branch‌ ‌Forecast,‌ ‌your‌ ‌regular‌ ‌look‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌Legislative‌ ‌branch‌ ‌and‌ government ‌transparency.‌ ‌Tell ‌your‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ subscribe. TOP LINE Schedule. The Senate is in this week; the House has a committee workweek. Both are on recess next week. The committee calendar is light, but I’ll be busy. On Thursday the House Admin Committee will […]

Tags: Congressional Unionization

Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Continuity and Resiliency, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for January 31, 2022: Proxy Voting FTW

By DanielSchuman January 31, 2022 12 min read

Welcome‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌First‌ ‌Branch‌ ‌Forecast,‌ ‌your‌ ‌regular‌ ‌look‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌Legislative‌ ‌branch‌ ‌and‌ government ‌transparency.‌ ‌Tell ‌your‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ subscribe. This week. The Senate is back today; the House is back tomorrow. Appropriations run out on February 18th, so expect a short CR, an omnibus bill, or a shutdown. Looking at scheduled committee proceedings, we see separate Tuesday HSGAC […]

Tags: Staff Pay, US Capitol Police, January 6, Proxy Voting

Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for January 18, 2022: Fire, Freedom, and Funds

By DanielSchuman January 18, 2022 16 min read

Welcome‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌First‌ ‌Branch‌ ‌Forecast,‌ ‌your‌ ‌regular‌ ‌look‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌Legislative‌ ‌branch‌ ‌and‌ government ‌transparency.‌ ‌Tell ‌your‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ subscribe. THE TOP LINE It’s Tuesday, Lemon. The House is back today after the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday with an apparently light floor schedule; the Senate canceled recess to try again to move voting rights […]

Tags: January 6, congressional staff

Congressional Security, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for January 10, 2022: Gloom and doom?

By DanielSchuman January 10, 2022 8 min read

Welcome‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌First‌ ‌Branch‌ ‌Forecast,‌ ‌your‌ ‌regular‌ ‌look‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌Legislative‌ ‌branch‌ ‌and‌ government ‌transparency.‌ ‌Tell ‌your‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ subscribe. THE TOP LINE This week. The House is back Monday evening with a quorum call to start the second session of the 117th Congress; the Senate is back on Monday as well. The floor and […]

Tags: US Capitol Police, January 6

Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Security, Advocacy, Blog posts

Make U.S. Capitol Police IG Reports Publicly Available Online

By DanielSchuman January 6, 2022 2 min read

Federal inspectors general routinely publish their findings online. This helps hold federal agencies to account by creating public and internal pressure to address the concerns raised by the IG and creating a record should they fail to fix problems. However, the Capitol Police Inspector General is one of a handful of IGs that withholds their […]

Tags: Inspector General, US Capitol Police, Transparency

First Branch Forecast for April 11, 2022: Fox on Stocks

First Branch Forecast for April 4, 2022: 4/04 Resolution Not Found

Key Policy Provisions Included in the FY 2022 Legislative Branch Bill and Joint Explanatory Statement

First Branch Forecast for March 21, 2022: Not the Supremes

First Branch Forecast for March 7, 2022

First Branch Forecast for February 28, 2022

First Branch Forecast for February 22, 2022: The twos

First Branch Forecast for February 14, 2022

First Branch Forecast for January 31, 2022: Proxy Voting FTW

First Branch Forecast for January 18, 2022: Fire, Freedom, and Funds

First Branch Forecast for January 10, 2022: Gloom and doom?

Make U.S. Capitol Police IG Reports Publicly Available Online

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