TOP LINE In case you need a reminder…it’s Monday again; we hope everyone is feeling well and hanging in there. This week’s First Branch Forecast focuses on continuity of Congress and the emergency Coronavirus bill, which are inextricably linked. We also have some important reads in our Oversight & Transparency + Odds & Ends sections […]
All Members of Congress and Staff in DC and District Offices Should Telecommute During the Coronavirus Emergency Where Congressional Offices Stand One Week Later (Update, 3/23/2020 2:18pm): Early last week, our team created a database with every congressional offices’ telework policy. Despite strong support from both lawmakers and staff to work from home, leadership in both […]
The Pope banned public masses, closed Holy Week services, and is encouraging “spiritual communion” when it is unsafe to receive it in person; the New York Stock Exchange has rushed a rule into effect to facilitate electronic auctions in light of the temporary closure of the trading floor; and yet the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader […]
Congressional experts discussed the need for emergency, time-limited measures to allow for remote congressional proceedings during the coronavirus emergency. Speakers at the online event included: Norm Ornstein, who was pulled off a flight at Dulles on 9/11. He has worked extensively on continuity of operations. Marci Harris former staffer and CEO of POPVOX, a community […]
TOP LINE Congress is open for business, but for how long? The Capitol Complex and Library of Congress are not allowing visitors through April 1st, although there are some loopholes for business visitors. The House put out telework guidance for offices — but no uniform telework requirement — and went into its district work period; the Senate cancelled its district work […]
The coronavirus poses a deadly threat to our democracy, so we have a special issue of the First Branch Forecast focused on what the House and Senate should do right now to maintain the continuity of Congress. Read the letter below containing civil society recommendations that must be implemented before the start of the district work period. We published a […]
TOP LINE There’s more news than can fit in our little newsletter. The House Rules Committee did its part to encourage the Article I Renaissance (to steal a phrase from Lorelei Kelly) with a nearly four-hour hearing spiced with thoughtful expert testimony examining how Congress’ role has been diminished over decades and how to reassert congressional authority. (How, […]
House Members are in their districts this week but the Senate is in for impeachment trial proceedings, which start today. Senators are the deciders, but they are not jurors. Before we start, it’s worth rereading MLK’s letter from a Birmingham jail. I found this section resonant: “I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means […]
PRE-RAMBLE With impeachment and the election season heating up, I want to talk directly about this newsletter. We focus on building a strong, modern, resilient Congress and stay away from items that are merely partisan or about political advantage. But questions arising from the operation of the legislative branch have become closely intertwined with the […]
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 […]