“When Congress Fails”
Ezra Klein on presidents acting unilaterally.
Category Archives: legislation and legislatures
“I’m Just a Bill” — ALEC Bashing Edition
Regular ELB readers know I collect links to various parodies of the Schoolhouse Rock Classic, “I’m Just a Bill.”
The production values on this latest one are excellent, but it is also the most controversial one yet.
“Earmark Ban Fails to Stop Lawmaker Requests for Spending”
Bloomberg reports.
“Harry Reid Ready to Alter Filibuster Rules; Majority Leader Could Use ‘Constitutional Option’ to Change Rule on Procedural Votes”
Must-read Roll Call report. A snippet:
Another senior Democrat, Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), said the filibuster is a useful rule that Democrats may not want to alter if they return to the minority.
“If the Republicans take over… Continue reading
“A House Divided: Books About the Tea Party Class of 2010”
In the Sunday NYT Book Review, Michael Crowley reviews Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives By Robert Draper and It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the… Continue reading
“Chart of the Day”
WonkWire looks at the decline in the number of laws passed by Congress.
“13 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever”
Ezra Klein column.
“The ‘CBO Canon’ and the Debate Over Tax Credits on Federally Operated Health Insurance Exchanges”
The following is a guest post from Abbe Gluck [cross-posted from Balkinization]:
Abbe Gluck
The latest fracas over health reform—the challenge to subsidies for the federal exchanges—offers a long-overdue opportunity to think about how particular features of modern lawmaking… Continue reading
“Fixing Washington” – Revised
I have posted on SSRN a substantially revised version of my review essay, forthcoming in the December 2012 issue of the Harvard Law Review, considering Larry Lessig’s and Jack Abramoff’s books on money, lobbying, campaign finance and politics. The new… Continue reading
“In Washington’s New Mood of Austerity, Legislating Turns Into a Zero-Sum Game”
NYT reports.
“Countrywide Loans Sought Favor With Fannie Mae, Report Says”
Bloomberg: “Countrywide Financial Corp. gave discount loans to former and current members of the U.S. Congress and executives at Fannie Mae as it lobbied to scuttle legislation that would have diminished its sale of sub-prime mortgages, according to a… Continue reading
“Ohio Clergy Group Seeks IRS Probe Of Exempt Status of Free Market Group”
Bloomberg BNA: “Clergy VOICE, a group of central Ohio Christian clergy of various denominations, has asked the Internal Revenue Service to sanction the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), or strip it of its tax code Section 501(c)(3) charity status,… Continue reading
“Fla. Election Law Draws New Legal Challenge”
Naturally. The latest in Florida (which is up to six current lawsuits relating to election administration, by my count) is a request for an administrative determination that proceeding with Florida’s new omnibus voting law in 62 counties, while applying the… Continue reading
“Former IRS Official Demands Investigation of ALEC”
Roll Call has more about the complaint letter.