by jpitney | Aug 15, 2025 | Uncategorized
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: The Supreme Court’s decision in McGrain v. Daugherty in 1927 held that Congress has an inherent right to compel testimony and conduct oversight as part of its constitutional lawmaking functions. The case was an offshoot of the Teapot...
by jpitney | Aug 14, 2025 | California Politics, Energy
Dan Walters at CalMatters: If and when Gavin Newsom launches a campaign for president, economic and social conditions in the California he’s governed for two terms will be in the spotlight. While Newsom brags incessantly about the state and its achievements, its...
by jpitney | Aug 13, 2025 | Budget
Like previous efforts to reduce the deficit by cutting “waste, fraud, and abuse,” DOGE was a failure. Jessie Blaeser at Politico: The Trump administration’s claim that it is saving billions of dollars through DOGE-related cuts to federal contracts is...
by jpitney | Aug 12, 2025 | Budget
Elizabeth Elkind at Fox: House GOP fiscal hawks have requested tens of millions of federal dollars for projects in their home districts for fiscal year 2026, an analysis by Fox News Digital has found. It’s common practice for congressional lawmakers to request...
by jpitney | Aug 11, 2025 | Business, Economic Policy, Trade
Patricia Cohen at NYT: Smaller firms, for instance, not only have fewer resources to weather unexpected costs, they also lack the bargaining power of megastores like Walmart to pressure suppliers to lower prices. They may also lack access to lines of credit available...
by jpitney | Aug 10, 2025 | Economic Policy, Statistics
At WP, Former CEA chairs N. Gregory Mankiw and Cecilia Rouse explain the need for nonpartisan, trustworthy economic data: The collection and analysis of federal statistics is complex. Often, the first numbers produced are revised as more information is gathered. And...
by jpitney | Aug 9, 2025 | Congress, House of Representatives, Senate
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: For nearly three decades I labored in the congressional vineyards of rules, procedures, norms and reforms. And, in all that time, until last week, I had never heard of a law creating the Senate rule of five or the House rule of seven....
by jpitney | Aug 8, 2025 | Economic Policy, Trade
Kailyn Rhone at NYT: The sweeping tariffs target nearly all U.S. trading partners and push the average tax on imports to more than 18 percent, the highest since 1934 and a steep jump from 2.4 percent in January, according to Yale’s Budget Lab. While the taxes are...
by jpitney | Aug 7, 2025 | Congress, Presidency, Separation of Powers
Philip A. Wallach at Law & Liberty: We should dispassionately take stock of Congress’s current position on foreign and domestic policy, on taxing and spending, and on the deeper question of what role our elected representatives play in our Constitutional system....
by jpitney | Aug 6, 2025 | Public Service
Rebecca Carballo at Politico: More than a month ago, the Education Department began public meetings to discuss the overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that allows civil service and nonprofit workers to have their student loans canceled after...
