Sticker-Schock: Breaking down Members’ Interior Design and Operation Spending
This piece was co-written with Mark Harkins, a Senior Fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University. He worked on Capitol Hill for over 17 years in various positions… Read More
Handicapping the GOP’s Prospects of Repealing Obamacare in the 114th Congress
It didn’t take them long, did it? Just a few days into the 114th Congress, Republicans in the House passed not one, but two bills to undo elements of the… Read More
New Republican rule complicates Rep. Paul Ryan’s future
New House Republican Conference rules prevent members seeking higher office to hold committee and subcommittee chairs. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said, the “idea is not to have major committees,… Read More
Income inequality did not affect the midterms – unless this was a very weird election.
Democrats are searching for explanations to Tuesday’s thorough defeat. Aside from obvious considerations – low turnout, 6th year election, etc. – there are several arguments that the economy was a… Read More
Congressional Abdication at its Finest
Ebola is the most recent “crisis” (footnote: “crisis” is a loose term given Ebola’s relative lack of impact on the health of individual Americans) is highlighting a severe abdication of… Read More
Can Democrats replace Ginsburg?
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in an Elle magazine interview, announced she would not retire because, “[Obama] could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see on… Read More
Congress out of session does not mean Congress isn’t working
The Fix blog at the Washington Post has an article arguing that since 1978, Congress has only worked a full week 14% of the time. This is a common—and extraordinarily… Read More
Recess is Over: Congress (will be) back in Session.
Congress returns from recess next week after an unexpectedly successful final week in July. Congress passed a significant Veterans health bill and temporarily extended the Highway Trust Fund. While there… Read More
Selection Bias and Voluntary Drug Testing Part II
In August of 2011, a post of mine addressed the policy of drug testing welfare recipients. At that time, much was made of the fact that Florida’s mandatory drug testing policy produced… Read More
No, the Senate did not block the House Border Bills – Yet
The Washington Examiner reported today, “in a matter of minutes, Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a pair of House bills that would have provided nearly $700 million to deal with… Read More