Category Archives: legislation and legislatures
“The Obligation of Members of Congress to Consider Constitutionality While Deliberating and Voting: The Deficiencies of House Rule XII and a Proposed Rule for the United States Senate”
Former Senator Russ Feingold has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Most scholarly attention on constitutional interpretation is focused on the judicial branch and the role of the judiciary in our system of separation of powers. Nonetheless… Continue reading
“Saboteurs in the Potato Salad”
Tim Egan:
Just now, a cell of several hundred people has been dispatched into the American summer, to picnics, town halls, radio stations, hospitals and Little League playing fields, with a mission to derail the economic recovery and drum up… Continue reading
“GOP Telegraphs Mass Filibuster Of Obama’s Top Judges”
“G.O.P. Rifts Lead Congress to Spending Impasse”
“When Congress Refuses to Govern”
Jonathan Capehart writes for WaPo’s PostPartisan, discussing, among other things, my empirical research, End of the Dialogue: Political Polarization, the Supreme Court and Congress.
“In Senate, Arm-Twisting and Vote-Changing Lead to a Confirmation”
Quote of the Day from Jonathan Bernstein
“It made for dramatic CSPAN-2 watching, at least until the long wait for the flight from North Dakota began.”
—Senate Deal Holds [on filibuster]
Colbert on Senate Finance Committee Accepting Secret Suggestions on Drafting Tax Reform Legislation
“The Next Filibuster Face-Off: Obama’s Judicial Nominees”
“Wrinkle in Health Law Vexes Lawmakers’ Aides”
NYT: “As President Obama barnstorms the country promoting his health care law, one audience very close to home is growing increasingly anxious about the financial implications of the new coverage: members of Congress and their personal staffs.”
“Congress spends too much time fundraising. But it’s less time than you think”
“Lawmakers, Lobbyists Push for New Tax Breaks Through Secret Process”
National Journal:
The Senate’s top tax writers’ “blank slate” approach to tax reform was supposed to give Congress the chance to throw out all tax breaks and start fresh. Instead, lawmakers and lobbyists are using their confidential and off-the-record… Continue reading
The Chances of a Deal to Fix the VRA After Shelby County? Observations about the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
I had a chance to watch a good part of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today. It makes me more pessimistic about the chances of a deal to improve the Voting Rights Act after the Supreme Court effectively gutted section… Continue reading