Congress

President Trump’s selection of his second Supreme Court appointment, the Hon. Brett Kavanaugh, is heralded as a Republican victory. The media and both parties are singularly focused on the confirmation of Kavanaugh’s appointment. But with all the focus on this nomination, the Senate itself is ignoring equally important nominations: judges for the lower courts. The […]

The Senate is taking up the Farm Bill this week, which provides conservatives numerous opportunities for amendments. Here are eight ideas for reform. Reduce subsidies by 15 percent the federal crop insurance subsidy for farmers with an adjusted gross income of $700,000. This amendment was offered by Sens. Coburn (R-OK) and Durbin (D-Ill.) in 2013, […]

Arcane procedural maneuvers are usually reserved for the Senate. But this week in the House, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) resurrected a House rule from 1876 in a bid to take down a bureaucrat. On Thursday, the House considered Gosar’s amendment to reduce the salary of Mark Gabriel, the Administrator of the Western Power Administration, to […]

This week in the “Lazy Senate,” the spotlight is on the Senate’s pesky 30-hour rule — the one that Republicans constantly blame for the Senate’s slow pace of confirmations. But is it? The short answer is, no. It’s just another excuse by Republican leadership to be, you guessed it, lazy. Here’s why. In 2013 and […]

The Senate’s arcane rules have never been more popular. The Senate’s 44 standing rules, usually  obscured by their more popular precedents or made irrelevant by routine waivers, are suddenly getting some love. The rules haven’t changed or made a sudden showy reappearance on C-SPAN. In fact, it’s the opposite. Conservatives are getting irritated with the Senate Republicans refusal to use […]

After expressing unhappiness with the size of the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill he signed last month, reports indicate that President Trump is working on a package of rescissions to cut some of the spending. What is a rescission? A “rescission” is the cancellation or reduction of budget authority (the ability of an agency to […]

Congress loves to pretend to be working while not actually doing much of anything. It’s a Swamp specialty. This is particularly true in theUnited States Senate, where Republican leaders blame Democrat obstruction and obscure rules for their inability to get things done. CPI’s Policy Director, Rachel Bovard, has written extensively about how, in failing to do […]

In the midst of all the hysteria over a potential government shutdown, one particular question keeps popping up: why can’t the Republicans keep the government open if they have majorities in both chambers of Congress, and the White House? The answer has to do with the nature of minority rights in the Senate. But more […]

After excoriating Republicans for shutting down the government in 2013, leading Democrats now appear willing to do the exact same thing unless they get amnesty for 800,000 DACA recipients. Republicans have offered to make a deal. Their terms were once supported by Democrats, CPI’s Rachel Bovard writes in The Hill. Read the full op-ed here. Ironically, […]

As the House and Senate start making significant moves toward their goal of passing tax reform before Christmas, we’ve pulled together resources from the around the conservative movement which discuss the policies at stake. Know Your History Take a look at the tax concepts being discussed during previous tax reform debates. Cato Institute Policy Analysis […]

2017: The year congressional Republicans failed to deliver on their promises Just when we all thought 2017 didn’t have much gas left in the tank, it’s about to get worse. The mother of all spending bills is coming. Congress must reach a deal to fund the government by Dec. 8, or pass a short term Continuing […]

Much has been made of Democrat “obstruction” when it comes to confirming President Trump’s nominees for positions ranging from agency officials to federal judges. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell noted it in a press release last week, where he blamed the Senate’s slow pace of confirmations on Democrats getting in the way. But is this […]

After failing to repeal Obamacare earlier this year using the Fiscal Year 2017 reconciliation process, the Senate has found itself in a peculiar position. The reconciliation bill for FY2017 still remains on the Senate calendar, available for use. But for how long? Until this fiscal year ends on September 30, 2017? Until the end of […]

Conservatives have been understandably frustrated with Congress’s inability to repeal Obamacare. That frustration continues to grow, as House and Senate leadership have made it apparent that they’d like to move on to other issues. The House Freedom Caucus is determined not to let them. Just before Congress left for their summer recess, the House Freedom […]