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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 […]

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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?

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Rules, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Do 218 Co-Sponsors Make a Difference? Apparently, Yes.

By DanielSchuman October 2, 2018 4 min read

Recent proposals to reform the rules of the House of Representatives included measures to make it easier for legislation that has the support of a majority of the chamber to advance to the floor or prompt committee consideration. If implemented, would this make a difference in how legislation plays out? Apparently, yes. To find out, we reviewed […]

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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 […]

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AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, Modernization, Rules, First Branch Forecast

Forecast for September 24, 2018. Congress’ Staff Capacity Problem, Plus the Library of Congress Started Publishing CRS Reports.

By DanielSchuman September 24, 2018 8 min read

THE TOP LINE Rules reform is the topic of a Congressional Transparency Caucus event on Thursday at 2 in Rayburn 2456 entitled “Playing by the House Rules.” RSVP here. Rep. Quigley will make opening remarks. Panelists include Daniel Schuman, Demand Progress; Meredith McGehee, Issue One; Matt Glassman, GAI at Georgetown; Molly Reynolds, Brookings Institution. For more, we […]

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

Forecast for September 17, 2018. Celebrating Constitution Day and Reforming the House Rules.

By DanielSchuman September 17, 2018 9 min read

THE TOP LINE Happy birthday to the US Constitution, signed 231 years ago today. In its honor, we are pleased to publish online the Constitution Annotated, a treatise commissioned by Congress that explains the Constitution as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. By we, I mean Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, GovTrack.us, and Demand Progress. Reforming the House’s […]

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Rules, Advocacy, Blog posts, Reports & Analysis

Time to Reform the House Rules

By DanielSchuman September 12, 2018 3 min read

Improving the House’s rules is the focus of a new letter and white paper released today. It’s no secret that Congress is struggling; these reforms are aimed at making it easier for Members to legislate, conduct oversight, and address constituent concerns. The letter sets out 10 principles for reforming the House rules, endorsed by 20 organizations and 8 experts […]

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

Forecast for September 10, 2018. Legislative Branch Appropriations and Conference Rules.

By DanielSchuman September 10, 2018 10 min read

TOP LINE The Leg Branch minibus conference report may get a House floor vote this week; there was an actual, real-life conference committee last week. Here’s what’s in the House and Senate bills. — As a bonus (& thanks to Tim Ryan), the House plumped down $8.8m for intern pay in the amended legislation (text is unavailable), a big step forward to opening up the […]

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