The Committee Will Vote on Authorizing the Chairman to Issue Subpoenas – Washington, D.C. – On April 3, 2019 at 9 a.m., the House Judiciary Committee will markup a resolution to authorize subpoenas for Special Counsel Mueller’s full and complete report, its underlying evidence and related matters. This markup will provide the Committee an opportunity to… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Congress
Tracking House oversight in the Trump era
“House Democrats in the 116th Congress have several oversight tools to hold the Trump administration accountable and investigate executive branch misconduct. Two of the most significant mechanisms include holding congressional hearings as well as sending letters to executive branch agencies and to individuals involved in executive branch operations. Developed by Governance Studies, Brookings’s House Oversight… Continue Reading
Dome Watch via Office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
“Dome Watch is a product of the Office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. It is designed to help House staff, the press, and the public better follow the latest developments from the House Floor. The app uses data from both majorityleader.gov and demcom.house.gov, which is the official intranet for House Democratic staff (available only within… Continue Reading
Senators demand to know why election vendors still sell voting machines with ‘known vulnerabilities’
TechCrunch: “Four senior senators have called on the largest U.S. voting machine makers to explain why they continue to sell devices with “known vulnerabilities,” ahead of upcoming critical elections. The letter, sent Wednesday, calls on election equipment makers ES&S, Dominion Voting and Hart InterCivic to explain why they continue to sell decades-old machines, which the… Continue Reading
The Uninsured and the ACA: A Primer
Kaiser Family Foundation – The Uninsured and the ACA: A Primer – Key Facts about Health Insurance and the Uninsured amidst Changes to the Affordable Care Act: “… Despite large gains in health coverage, some people continued to lack coverage, and the ACA remained the subject of political debate. Attempts to repeal and replace the… Continue Reading
The Sentencing Project 2018 Annual Report
“Criminal justice reform is a challenging undertaking, but if we take the long view we can recognize that success is possible, even if incremental at times. This was the story of reform in 2018, a year in which we saw significant gains in sentencing policy and public understanding of mass incarceration.Most prominent, of course, was… Continue Reading
Federal Prosecutors Are Cracking Down on Domestic Abusers With Guns
Slate: “…A woman is shot to death by a current or former romantic partner every 16 hours, according to FBI and state crime data analyzed by the Associated Press. Domestic violence claims the lives of children, innocent bystanders, and police officers called to help; it sometimes escalates to mass shootings. Abused women are five times… Continue Reading
The Experimental Congress.gov Browser Extension has been Updated
In Custodia Legis – LC: “The experimental Congress.gov browser extension created by Syed Tanveer has been updated so the current legislation feature now defaults to the 116th Congress. Also, the drop-down menu can now search for text that you highlight in CRS Reports, the U.S. Code, and the eCFR. The browser extension does two things.… Continue Reading
Judicial Nomination Statistics and Analysis: U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 1977-2018, March 21, 2019
Judicial Nomination Statistics and Analysis: U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 1977-2018, March 21, 2019. “Under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, the President and the Senate share responsibility for making appointments to the Supreme Court, as well as to various lower courts of the federal judiciary. While the President nominates persons to fill federal judgeships,… Continue Reading
Announcing the Brookings House Oversight Tracker
Brookings: “When Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in January, they pledged that the transition would usher in a period of vigorous oversight of the executive branch. As Lawfare readers know, that effort has featured a number of high-profile hearings, including a House Committee on the Judiciary session with then-Acting Attorney General Matt… Continue Reading
CRS – Special Counsel Investigations: History, Authority, Appointment and Removal
Via FAS: Special Counsel Investigations: History, Authority, Appointment and Removal, Updated March 13, 2019 “The Constitution vests Congress with the legislative power, which includes authority to establish federal agencies and conduct oversight of those entities. Criminal investigations and prosecutions, however, are generally regarded as core executive functions assigned to the executive branch. Because of the… Continue Reading
CRS – Congressional Access to the President’s Federal Tax Returns
Secrecy News: “By refusing to disclose his tax returns, President Trump has breached — and may have demolished — the longstanding norm under which sitting presidents and presidential candidates are expected to voluntarily disclose their federal tax returns. At the same time, there is reason to think that new norms of disclosure can be created.… Continue Reading
