by jpitney | Aug 29, 2020 | Deliberation, Senate
James Wallner at LegBranch.org: Today’s opponents of the filibuster share a distorted view of the Senate. They see it as a factory whose purpose is to produce legislative widgets. Senators become, in their minds, craftsmen who apply technical knowledge to make those...
by jpitney | Aug 21, 2020 | Congress, Deliberation, Foreign Policy, House of Representatives, Military, Oversight, Senate
At R Street, Casey Burgat looks at congressional oversight capacity on national security and foreign affairs. Here he examines the House Committees on Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Armed Services. [D]espite regular increases from 2003 through...
by jpitney | May 2, 2020 | Congress, Senate
Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) , Dick Durbin (D-IL) and security expert Jason Matheny at the New York Times: An essential part of the Senate’s constitutional function, no matter the circumstances, is for senators to cast votes on legislation. We propose allowing remote...
by jpitney | Mar 20, 2020 | Congress, Coronavirus, Senate, Technology
A March 19 news release from Senator Rob Portman: Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced a bipartisan resolution to amend the Standing Rules of the Senate to allow senators to vote remotely during a national crisis. During certain...
by jpitney | Mar 5, 2020 | Civility, Senate, Supreme Court
Justice Roberts’s statement on Wednesday: This morning, Senator Schumer spoke at a rally in front of the Supreme Court while a case was being argued inside. Senator Schumer referred to two Members of the Court by name and said he wantedto tell them that...
by jpitney | Feb 26, 2020 | Congress, Senate, Separation of Powers
A Washington Post open letter from 70 former senators from both parties: Congress is not fulfilling its constitutional duties. Much of the responsibility rests on the Senate. We are writing to encourage the creation of a bipartisan caucus of incumbent senators who...
