ICYMI: Top reads on Congress

David Lerman, “Senate appropriations process continues to devolve,” Roll Call. September 11, 2019.

“The Appropriations Committee announced it will postpone consideration of its fiscal 2020 Labor-HHS-Education bill and its State-Foreign Operations bill….None of the 12 annual spending bills have reached the Senate floor and a stopgap funding measure is being prepared to keep the government operating.”

Aubrey Neal and Kevin Kosar, “Explainer: The 116th House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress,” R Street. September 10, 2019.

“As of Sept. 1, 2019, the SCOMC has held seven public hearings, a Member-day hearing and three business meetings. Although the SCOMC does not hold legislative authority, the Committee’s work thus far has resulted in 29 recommendations for reform, presented in two packages. Both packages have received unanimous approval by the Committee’s 12 members.”

Chris Marquette, “Final price tag unknown for Cannon House Office Building renovation,” Roll Call. September 10, 2018.

“The Architect of the Capitol reported in June that it expected the project’s cost to increase by 10 percent to 15 percent to about $828 million to $866 million, compared with its initial estimate of $753 million…”

Charlie Savage, “Presidential power much be curbed after Trump, 2020 candidates say,” The New York Times. September 10, 2019.

“The survey — which elicited answers from 15 Democrats, including all in the top polling tier and eight of the 10 in Thursday’s debate — also focused on recurring constitutional disputes that have arisen under recent presidents of both parties on matters including secrecy and war.”

Jordain Carney, “Congress faces sprint to avoid another shutdown,” The Hill. September 8, 2019.

“There’s no conceivable situation where we would pass some bills before Sept. 30 and leave others on a CR.”