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Wallner on the Senate: How senators can offer amendments without the majority leader’s permission
By James Wallner The demise of regular order in the Senate makes it harder for its members to participate in the legislative process. And the result of their efforts… Read More
Wallner on the Senate: Structural imbalances in the Senate’s amendment process
The Senate is a pale imitation of what it once was. A major reason for its current predicament is that senators are no longer able to freely amend the… Read More
Wallner on the Senate: Blocking amendments is a perversion of Senate rules and practices
The Senate today is an institution in decline. It is paralyzed—unable to legislate, much less deliberate. The Senate’s plight is reflected in the near-total deterioration of its amendment process. Read More
ICYMI: Congress’s vanishing budget: It’s not all polarization’s fault
Casey Burgat and Joshua Huder write at the Brookings FixGov Blog: “Congress is failing to do its job in large respects, particularly when it comes to government spending. But… Read More
ICYMI: James Wallner and Peter Hanson on the Filibuster
Episode #284 of Banter, an American Enterprise Institute podcast, features R Street Institute’s James Wallner and Grinnell College’s Peter Hanson. You can listen in at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/banter-an-aei-podcast/id427915745?mt=2# or https://ricochet.com/podcast/banter-284-james-wallner-peter-hanson-senate-filibuster/… Read More
Preserve the Filibuster: Protect the People from Political Parties
Source: HistoryNet.com Gregory Kogor writes at the Ripon Society: “Should Senate Republicans abolish the filibuster? The filibuster is not specifically established by the U.S. Constitution. Then again, neither are political… Read More
The 1986 Tax Reform Effort Shows that Republicans Have a Tough Road Ahead
Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26 By Rob Oldham If there is one thing that unites Republicans as different as Donald Trump, Paul Ryan (WI), and Susan Collins (ME), it is a general… Read More
The Senate Is Broken, But Don’t Blame the Filibuster
By John Rackey In a recent article, Ezra Klein declared the Senate broken. The culprits, according to Klein, are the increased use of the filibuster and the reconciliation… Read More
Rep. Ken Buck: The Game Here Is Not to Take a Tough Vote
In this interview with Full Measure, Rep. Ken Buck (R, CO) lit into congressional leadership. “The game here is not to take a tough vote. Nobody wants to take… Read More
New Resource: Oversight.gov
“Oversight.gov is a publicly accessible, searchable website containing the latest public reports from Federal Inspectors General who are members of the Council of the Inspectors General on… Read More