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Where can I find the rules of the House of Representatives?
Where can I find the rules of the House of Representatives?

You cannot really understand the House of Representatives without some familiarity with its rules. They affect everything---who acts as leaders, ...

February 7, 2025
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The Woebegone 118th Congress
The Woebegone 118th Congress

Phlilip Wallach The Woebegone 118th Congress 02-2025Download

February 6, 2025
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Dysfunction in Federal Budgeting: Structural Factors and Selected Reforms
Dysfunction in Federal Budgeting: Structural Factors and Selected Reforms

James Capretta, Dysfunction in Federal Budgeting Structural Factors and Selected Reforms, American Enterprise Institute, January 2025. James Capretta Dysfunction in Federal ...

February 4, 2025
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Yanking on the purse strings
Yanking on the purse strings

President-elect Donald Trump and senior advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-chairs of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency, ...

February 4, 2025
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House Leadership Structure: Overview of Party Organization
House Leadership Structure: Overview of Party Organization

Congressional Research Service, House Leadership Structure: Overview of Party Organization, Congressional Research Service, report RS20930, July 10, 2003. Congressional Research Service ...

February 2, 2025
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Executive actions will only take Trump so far
Executive actions will only take Trump so far

Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL) recently took to X.com to celebrate the Immigration and Customs Officials arrests of more than ...

January 31, 2025
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The federal budget: Serious issues and unserious politics
The federal budget: Serious issues and unserious politics

Annual deficits make for growing deficits. Source: Wikipedia. There are serious issues with America’s federal budget. Very serious issues. Where to begin? Let ...

January 10, 2025
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Event: The Woebegone 118th Congress—and What to Expect for the 119th
Event: The Woebegone 118th Congress—and What to Expect for the 119th

Source: Philip Wallach. The 118th Congress was historically unproductive. In some ways, though, it was one for the history books, featuring ...

January 8, 2025
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Degraded Deliberation in the U.S. House
Degraded Deliberation in the U.S. House

The cloistered Rules Committee in late December of 2024. Source: House Committee on the Rules. As it scrambled to pass a ...

January 8, 2025
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House committee tries to rein in a VA loan program
House committee tries to rein in a VA loan program

The House Committee on Veterans Affairs met recently to discuss the topic of regulation and to pick a bone with ...

January 3, 2025
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There is no substitute for Congress legislating
There is no substitute for Congress legislating

The author observes in his written testimony before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs that when agencies issue regulations that ...

December 23, 2024
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Why has Trump drawn so heavily from Congress with his appointments?
Why has Trump drawn so heavily from Congress with his appointments?

By Philip Wallach and Jaehun Lee When he was first elected president in November 2016, Donald Trump chose a diverse array ...

December 18, 2024
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Trump-picked federal budget-cutters Musk and Ramaswamy face challenge of challenge of convincing lawmakers
Trump-picked federal budget-cutters Musk and Ramaswamy face challenge of challenge of convincing lawmakers

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been much in the news since its creation was announced in mid-November by ...

December 6, 2024
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McConnell leaves Senate leadership legacy pleasing to conservatives
McConnell leaves Senate leadership legacy pleasing to conservatives

The day after the election, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stood before assembled reporters. “Good morning, everyone,” he said with a slight smile ...

November 16, 2024
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Event: Can we revive the Senate?
Event: Can we revive the Senate?

The Senate did not pass a budget resolution in spring of 2024, nor did it enact any of the dozen ...

November 8, 2024
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How one congressional staffer made a difference
How one congressional staffer made a difference

Buy it. It is not easy being a staffer on Capitol Hill. No, the work is not road paving or ditch ...

November 4, 2024
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Optimizing the U.S. Congressional Calendar to Boost Legislative Productivity
Optimizing the U.S. Congressional Calendar to Boost Legislative Productivity

Source: Bipartisan Policy Center. J.D. Rackey et al., Optimizing the U.S. Congressional Calendar to Boost Legislative Productivity, Bipartisan Policy Center, October ...

October 28, 2024
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How Mitch McConnell Got His Job & What’s a Senate Leader Anyway?

https://youtu.be/G0jDQIVMsoc?si=6psXffMzq-PCEdxc This primer video helpfully explains how the selection process for the majority leader is selected, which is very different from ...

October 24, 2024
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Will Senators Hard-Bargain to Revive the Senate?
Will Senators Hard-Bargain to Revive the Senate?

Hello? Is there anyone here? The U.S. Senate chamber, 1891. Source: R.K. Bonine via the Library of Congress. Last month, Sen. George ...

October 18, 2024
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How senators can restore the world’s greatest deliberative body
How senators can restore the world’s greatest deliberative body

Senate pageboys celebrate adjournment in October, 1949, with good reason. The 80th Congress enacted more than 900 bills in a ...

October 7, 2024
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