New LegBranch.com Resource: How Wealthy Are Our Representatives?
Graphic created by Trey Billing, @TreyBilling It likely wouldn’t surprise anyone, much less a congressional scholar, to learn that most members of Congress are wealthier… Read More
From Staff Cuts to Lagging Technology, Congress Has a Capacity Problem
Casey Burgat writes at Brookings Institution’s FixGov Blog: “Congress has convened for one of the busier sessions it has faced in decades. But can it do its job? “A… Read More
Why We Do Not Need a More Powerful Presidency
Casey Burgat and Kevin Kosar write in Washington Monthly: “Once upon a time, we had a legislative branch that could help govern. The House and Senate had long-serving leaders… Read More
Congress May Be More Bipartisan Than You Think
At the Library of Congress’s Congress and History conference, political scientists James Curry and Frances Lee presented their working paper “Non-Party Government: Bipartisan Lawmaking and Theories… Read More
Are Long Weekends Cutting Into Congress’s Productivity?
The typical congressional schedule finds members in legislative session beginning Tuesday morning and returning to their districts or states Thursday evening for constituent-related work. Members also have district work… Read More
What’s in the FY2018 House Legislative Branch Appropriation?
On June 29, the House Appropriations Committee approved fiscal year 2018 appropriations via voice vote. The bill calls for $3.58 billion of funding for House and joint-chamber… Read More
The Downsides of Using Executive Agency Detailees
In a previous post, I recounted the advantages of using executive detailees as a means of combatting staffing shortages on Capitol Hill. In short, agency detailees can serve as… Read More
One More Bit of Good News About Congressional Capacity
Within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was authorized to establish senior level positions “to meet critical… Read More
How Executive Detailees Could Help Ease Congress’ Staffing Problems
Source: Russell Mills and Jennifer Selin, 2017. It is becoming more widely acknowledged that Congress has a staffing problem. While the executive branch employs more than 4 million people,… Read More
Eight Good Pieces of News About Congress
R Street Institute’s Casey Burgat writes: It is not breaking news that most Americans are pessimistic about Congress. This negativity is reflected in Congress’ dismal 20 percent approval… Read More