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Pandemic endangers American political activity, self-governance

April 28, 2020  ·  James Wallner
The impact that COVID-19 has had on American public life over the past two months has been extraordinary. Millions of workers have lost their jobs or are furloughed without pay. Read More

Congress gets value from inspectors general

April 27, 2020  ·  Jonathan Bydlak
President Trump fired Michael Atkinson from his post as inspector general of the intelligence community. This week, the administration ensured that acting Pentagon inspector general Glenn Fine will not oversee… Read More

How Congress made the Secretary of the Treasury the boss

April 24, 2020  ·  Philip Wallach
Meet the new boss. The most memorable official pronouncement during the financial crisis of 2008 came at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on July 15. There, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson… Read More

New Congressional Research Service report on remote voting

April 23, 2020  ·  LegBranch.org Team
The Congressional Research Service has released a new report on a very timely topic—remote voting. The report was written by Todd Garvey and published by CRS at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10447… Read More

Hoyer and McCarthy issue dueling letters on online work and reopening Congress

April 22, 2020  ·  Kevin Kosar
Yesterday, Majority Whip Steny Hoyer (D, MD) released a letter advocating remote voting and deliberations. He wrote: “Beyond implementing the proxy voting as a first step,… Read More

Where’s Congress? Don’t Just Blame Trump for the Coronavirus Catastrophe

April 21, 2020  ·  M. Anthony Mills and Robert Cook-Deegan
How in the world did it happen? The United States has the highest rating in the world on the Global Health Security Index, which assesses prevention, capacity for detection, preparedness… Read More

Congress must be ready for election uncertainty

April 20, 2020  ·  Kevin Kosar
Recent polls show President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in a virtual tie in national polls. State polls show the race as a tossup. Come November, the country may… Read More

Could Democrats and Republicans both benefit from bringing back earmarks?

April 16, 2020  ·  Kevin Kosar
Discussions about bringing back earmarks have flared up on Capitol Hill in recent years. Democrats in particular have expressed interest in reviving procedures whereby members of the House of Representatives could… Read More

Governance poll: Pre-COVID-19 America had growing confidence in the economy and rising sexism

April 15, 2020  ·  Todd Belt
Presidential campaigns offer a unique opportunity to observe how individuals respond to political events and messages. The GW Politics Poll contained two separate cross-sectional studies that help us… Read More

Today at 12: Emerging legal issues in congressional oversight and investigation

April 14, 2020  ·  Anthony Marcum
RSVP for this online meeting The 116th Congress may rank with those of the Teapot Dome Scandal and Watergate in terms of its importance in defining the congressional… Read More