What do Senators actually want for their states and what do they receive? The importance of priorities and easy political wins
Image source: Senate Appropriations By Jeremy Gelman When Congress is doling out money or projects, the evergreen question is who won and who lost? Indeed, after the passage of the… Read More
Who wants to chair the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee? No one.
By Matt Glassman When Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) resigned from Congress earlier this month, a vacancy was created on the House Committee on Appropriations, where Dent was the… Read More
Pursuing earmarks at the expense of pursuing policy
Image source: Bloomberg By Scott M. Guenther and David M. Searle In early January, President Trump floated the idea of bringing back earmarks to Congress, recalling before a group of… Read More
House Committee on Appropriations approves FY2019 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill
Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee voted 47-0 to approve the FY2019 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. The bill, which “provides annual funding for the offices of Members of the… Read More
A discretionary spending tale of two parties: James Madison rears his head
Image source here By John Haskell A close examination of federal discretionary spending totals over the last 25 years reveals an unmistakable trend: under Democratic presidents discretionary spending increases… Read More
Quick Hits: Budget and appropriations reform resources
On Monday, the Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform unveiled a new website. The website “will provide a source for general information and updates as… Read More
Legislative Branch Subcommittee hears from members and outside witnesses on FY 19 appropriations
The Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations held an FY 19: Members and Outside Witnesses hearing on Tuesday, April 17, 2018. The… Read More
Video: Congressional Budget Process Discussion with Maya MacGuineas and Philip Joyce
This Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group meeting took stock of the broken congressional budget process and likelihood of its reform with our budget expert guests, Maya MacGuineas and Philip Joyce. Read More
Would a more competitive congressional budgeting environment improve program performance?
Image source: House Committee on Appropriations By Stuart Kasdin Many observers have suggested that the key to making government efficient and effective, operating more like a business, is competition. In… Read More
New resource on Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Reform
The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Reform was established by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123) to make recommendations and develop legislative language that… Read More