Testimony: Congressional staff

April 2, 2019
Written testimony of Casey Burgat Senior Governance Fellow, R Street Institute Before the House of Representatives Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee… Read More

Enough of our budget farce

March 26, 2019
he Trump administration’s new budget is fake news. That isn’t because it fails to live up to its grandiose title: “A Budget for a Better America: Promises Kept. Taxpayers First.”… Read More

Letter in support of increased funding for the Legislative Branch in FY2020

March 21, 2019
Re: FY 2020 302(b) Allocation for the Legislative Branch Dear Chairwoman Lowey, Ranking Member Granger, and members of the committee: On behalf of the undersigned bipartisan group of civil society… Read More

No, getting rid of Congress is not a clever idea

February 20, 2019
Congressional majorities and President Donald Trump disagreed about how much money ought to be used to extend barriers running along our nation’s southern border. Their disagreement led to a partial… Read More

Video: America’s longest shutdown

February 13, 2019
LIVESTREAM:: America's Longest Shutdown @jiwallner, Charlie Bolton in @senrobportman's office, @julia_azari. https://t.co/l7WBznoJxZ — R Street Institute (@RSI) February 12,… Read More

Senate and House Legislative Branch subcommittee members appointed

January 22, 2019
The Legislative Branch subcommittees of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees contain several newcomers in the 116th. Newly elected Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) will chair the subcommittee on… Read More

Human capital and institutional decline in congressional appropriations committees

December 17, 2018
The new, divided Congress about to be seated in January will feature one of the most reform-minded freshman classes in recent congressional history. As Congress considers sweeping electoral and institutional… Read More

Throwback Thursday: Are we surprised the Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform crashed and burned?

December 13, 2018
Last February, Congress established a Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The committee, comprised of equal numbers of… Read More

The great earmark debate: Who should determine federal spending priorities?

October 16, 2018
Opponents in the debate over earmarks have never fallen neatly along the partisan divide. Outspoken critics – organizations such as Citizens Against Government Waste and Taxpayers for Common Sense,… Read More

What’s in the FY2019 House Legislative Branch Appropriation?

September 12, 2018
On September 10th House and Senate Appropriations Committees announced details of the first of three FY2019 minibus appropriations packages after reaching a conference agreement on appropriations bills for Energy… Read More