ICYMI: Top reads on Congress
Paul Kane, “Senate’s seniority rules raise questions when presidential succession is at stake,” Washington Post:
“A random quirk in Senate custom grants the position of president pro tempore to the longest-serving member of the majority party. While largely honorific, that post falls behind the vice president and House speaker in the line to the nation’s highest office.”
Elise Bean, “Congress must use bipartisan oversight as the gold standard,” The Hill:
“If Democrats take control of the House, they have a choice. If they follow the partisan path trod by some Republicans, they will produce the same unfortunate results, generating more noise than light and continuing to sour the American people on Congress. If the goals instead are to achieve meaningful reforms and restore public confidence in Congress, the majority party needs to aim for the gold standard in oversight with fact based and bipartisan policy oriented investigations.”
Jennifer Shutt, “Budget Overhaul Panel Dances With Deadline,” Roll Call:
“A special bicameral panel established to try to overhaul the annual budget process won’t reach a final agreement before the House leaves on Friday for its six-week midterm election break. But its members will meet privately one more time before the lame duck session to discuss various proposals that could become part of a final bill.”
Lindsey McPherson, “House Democrats Briefly Consider Upping Speakership Vote Threshold, Drop Proposal for Now,” Roll Call:
“House Democrats on Wednesday briefly discussed a proposal to require their candidate for speaker to secure 218 votes in the caucus vote instead of a simple majority. The proposal was dropped, for now.”
Al Weaver, “The man who would be speaker,” Washington Examiner:
“The majority leader is a shrewd political calculator and he’s redoubled his efforts to help Republicans keep hold of their precarious majority. He keeps alive his allied hope of replacing Rep. Paul Ryan as speaker of the House. The gavel might have been his three years ago, but he blew the race and had swiftly to abandon it.”
Mike DeBonis, “Pelosi critics fire warning shot, but Democrats agree to delay leadership scramble till November,” Washington Post:
“House Democrats on Wednesday took their simmering debate over the leadership of Nancy Pelosi off the front burner, agreeing to postpone until after the midterm elections an internal fight over election rules that could undermine the 16-year party leader.”
Rachel Bade, “Women’s caucus rebels against Pelosi’s grip,” Politico:
“A battle is underway for control of the Democratic Women’s Working Group, a little-known caucus aiming to vastly boost its profile and influence in the next Congress.”
Jamie Lovegrove, “Prospect of Jim Clyburn as House speaker ‘a game changer for South Carolina’,” Post and Courier:
“The path remains far from certain, but South Carolina Democrats are already giddy at the possibility that longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn could become the next speaker of the House.”
Lindsey McPherson, “Pete Aguilar Announces Bid for Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Against Katherine Clark,” Roll Call:
“Aguilar, whip for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is probably best known for his efforts to find a legislative solution for so-called Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants that could face deportation if President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ultimately succeed in court.”
Mike DeBonis, “Centrist lawmakers band together to demand House reforms from next speaker,” Washington Post:
“Nineteen House members say that, come January, they will not vote for any speaker candidate who does not agree to support a package of rules changes that could dramatically change how the chamber operates.”
Lindsey McPherson, “More Problem Solvers Members Pledge to Tie Speaker Vote to Rule Changes,” Roll Call:
“Trying to show their push to amend House rules to create more bipartisan legislative processes is serious, the Problem Solvers Caucus announced Thursday that 19 of its members are willing to oppose any speaker candidate who won’t bring about change.”
Roll Call Staff, “‘Regular Order’ Still Not Out of the Woods,” Roll Call:
“But by several metrics, the Senate hasn’t matched the fuller appropriations debate in the “world’s greatest deliberative body” that existed prior to the late 2000s.”
John A. Lawrence, “Democrats should be careful what they wish for,” The Hill:
“Superimposing rules that presume bipartisanship on a hyper-partisan institution is a prescription for gridlock and legislative subversion. There is every reason to believe that a Republican minority – in all likelihood comprised of largely hard-right survivors of a Democratic wave – would exploit such reforms to obstruct the policy goals of the majority, just as their ancestors did in the ‘70s by their own admission.”
James Wallner, “Americans Don’t Need a Politics Cleanse,” Law and Liberty:
“There is surely much to dislike in politics at present. And a cleanse offers the opportunity for many to take a much-desired break from it. But to define politics narrowly in this way is to hold it in contempt.”
David Heineman and Mike Beebe, “He Made Politics a Knockdown Brawl. (Hint: It Wasn’t Trump),” Roll Call:
“Contrary to the common cries of “It’s never been worse,” politics has always been personal, passionate and contentious. The vitriol we experience today is hardly unique to present-day America.”
C. Jarrett Dieterle, “Lessons in Regulatory Oversight,” National Affairs:
“It is not a revolutionary idea for Congress to review regulations proposed by federal agencies, but thinking in this area has fallen into a rut. In recent years, the House of Representatives has passed bills like the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (REINS), but they have not been seriously considered in the Senate, and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon.”
Alex Pollock, “It’s time for the Fed to be made accountable for its actions,” The Hill:
“I believe proponents of Fed independence tend to view it as a committee of economic philosopher-kings. But this fits neither its existence as part of a democratic government, nor the inherent uncertainties and limitations of its knowledge of the economic present, let alone the future.”
Alex Gangitano, “Former Staffers Want to Fund Diverse Women for Hill Internships,” Roll Call:
“They will have a scholarship selection committee to solicit applications, particularly from women who wouldn’t be able to hold an internship without this support. Once the women are selected, they will walk them through the process of applying for an internship, direct them to opportunities, tell them insider information from their experiences, and share a network of people to help them find internships.”
Kate Ackley, “Senate E-Filing Launches New Era in Campaign Disclosures,” Roll Call:
“With President Donald Trump’s signature Friday, it’s official: Senate candidates now must file their campaign finance reports electronically with the Federal Election Commission, making it easier for reporters, voters and opponents alike to sift through donor and spending disclosures.”
Katherine Tully-McManus, “Members’ Dining Room Sheds Exclusivity, Welcomes Staffers,” Roll Call:
“The Members’ Dining Room in the House is getting much less exclusive. Starting Tuesday, the eatery is now open to Capitol Hill staff, not just House members and their guests.”
Check out “A House Divided,” a new blog.
“In simple terms, “A House Divided” brings together scholars who combine historical and theoretical tools to tackle important political questions. While we are all different in how we ask and answer these questions, we encourage our readers to look behind the significant issues of the day to see their origins. In short, “A House Divided” is committed to the idea that we cannot understand our current politics without also understanding how we arrived here.”
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