ICYMI: Top reads on Congress

Lindsey McPherson, “Pelosi Agrees to Deal Limiting Her Speakership to 4 Years,” Roll Call:

“Under an agreement reached with seven Democrats who opposed her speaker bid, Pelosi will back term limits for the top three Democratic leaders. The limit she has agreed to will prevent her from serving as speaker beyond another four years.”

Catie Edmonson, “What Pelosi Has Promised to Win Speaker Votes,” NYT:

“In the weeks since, Ms. Pelosi — renowned for her ability to arm-twist and wheedle — has quietly campaigned to pick off members of the rebel faction, cutting deals and negotiating compromises to capture 218 pledges of support, and on Wednesday, she struck her most significant deal yet.”

Lindsey McPherson, “House Democrats to Wait ’Til Next Year in Term Limit Discussion,” Roll Call:

“With the current impasse on the upcoming speaker election as backdrop, House Democrats on Tuesday discussed the concept of term limiting their elected leaders and committee chairs, but decided to postpone until January when the incoming freshmen will be present to participate.”

John Fund, “House Democrats Debate Term Limits for Committee Heads,” National Review:

“One of the changes that reformers have in mind is term limits. For a quarter century, Republicans have followed a rule when they were in the majority that committee chairmen and -women could serve only six years before surrendering their gavel. Democrats will either have to keep the existing GOP rule, modify it, or scrap it.”

Niels Lesniewski, “Senate Establishes Precedent for Debating War Power Authority,” Roll Call:

“Senators found themselves in an unprecedented, but not unexpected, parliamentary situation Wednesday afternoon, faced with language in the statute of the War Powers Resolution that gave them no direction as to the terms under which amendments could be considered. To resolve that problem, senators voted 96-3, to set a precedent declaring that amendments to such joint resolutions must meet the stringent test of germaneness.”

Don Wolfensberger, “Opening day of new Congress: Not always total joy,” The Hill:

“Historically, not all opening days of a new Congress have been seamless odes to joy. Several have entailed multiple ballots to elect a Speaker, partisan fights over rule changes, or heated disputes over contested election cases (spoiler alert: the majority party usually wins). Such opening day clashes can poison the well for months.”

Bryan Lowry and Jonathan Shorman, “Lynn Jenkins sets up lobbying business — but she’s still a Kansas congresswoman,” McClatchy:

“Lynn Jenkins hasn’t left Congress yet, but the Kansas Republican has already launched a new lobbying firm.”

Katherine Tully-McManus, “Former Tennessee Rep. Van Hilleary Returns as Chief of Staff,” Roll Call:

“Former Rep. Van Hilleary will head back to Capitol Hill next year, this time as chief of staff to Rep.-elect John W. Rose. A member of the GOP class that swept to power in the mid-1990s, Hilleary represented Tennessee’s 4th District until 2003. He left office to run for Tennessee governor, but lost to Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen. He ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2006.”

Jory Heckman, “‘Autopilot’ government spending nearly doubled over last 20 years. But should Congress pump the brakes?,” Federal News Network:

“Amid efforts to avert a partial government shutdown on Dec. 21, a leading Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has expressed interest in taking a closer look at government spending that’s on “autopilot,” and not ordinarily part of the annual congressional appropriations process.”

Marianne Levine and Burgess Everett, “Congress reaches deal to curb sexual harassment on Capitol Hill,” Politico:

“House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Wednesday on long-stalled legislation to deal with sexual harassment in Congress, a bipartisan breakthrough that comes as Capitol Hill has weathered a series of scandals.”

Mike Lillis, “Dems eyeing ban on sleeping in offices,” The Hill:

“Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the incoming chairman of the House Rules Committee who has been soliciting reform proposals from rank-and-file Democrats for months, said the notion of prohibiting lawmakers from using their offices as rent-free accommodations in Washington, D.C., has broad support within the caucus.”

Bridget Bowman, “With Minority Looming, Could More Republicans Be Headed for the Exits?,” Roll Call:

“After the 2006 Democratic wave, about two dozen Republicans opted to retire the following cycle instead of languishing in the minority. And some in the party are worried about a repeat.”

Peter Berkowitz, “What the New Congress Can Learn From Aristotle,” RCP:

“You could say that these admonitions, rules of thumb, and counsels of prudence show that Aristotelian political science is nothing very fancy or particularly scientific, that it consists in large measure of refined common sense, subtly calibrated judgment, and supple accommodation. But as the advent of the 116^th Congress approaches, what is in shorter supply in the nation’s politics? And what ought to be in greater demand?”

Eric Felten, “Here’s How to Stop the Showboating Problem,” Weekly Standard:

“The standard procedure for a Capitol Hill hearing is incompatible with any serious investigation: a back-and-forth in which a member of the majority gets five minutes followed by five for someone from the minority, back to the majority, then minority, so forth and so on until every lawmaker has had his or her say.”

Todd Ruger, “Supreme Court to Hear Case on Administrative Power,” Roll Call:

“The Supreme Court will decide whether federal agencies should stop getting such a strong voice when interpreting their own regulations, in a case that could significantly influence how judges decide challenges to environmental, health care, immigration, veterans benefits and other rules.”