CRS Report – Women in Congress, 1917-2019: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress Updated November 13, 2019 – “In total 365 women have been elected or appointed to Congress, 247 Democrats and 118 Republicans. These figures include six nonvoting Delegates, one each from Guam, Hawaii, the District of Columbia,… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Congressional Participation in Litigation: Article III and Legislative Standing
CRS Report – Congressional Participation in Litigation: Article III and Legislative Standing Updated November 8, 2019 – Since the founding, the federal courts have played a critical role in adjudicating legal disputes, including ones involving executive action. As the Supreme Court stated in Marbury v. Madison, “where a specific duty is assigned by law .… Continue Reading
The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives
CRS report via FAS – The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives Updated November 14, 2019 – “Under the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to formally charge a federal officer with wrongdoing, a process known as impeachment. The House impeaches an individual when a majority agrees to a House resolution containing… Continue Reading
Strengthening Transparency or Silencing Science? The Future of Science in EPA Rulemaking
National Academies: Committee Member Testifies Before Congress on Reproducibility and Replicability in Science – “David Allison, member of the committee that wrote a 2019 National Academies report on reproducibility and replicability in science, appeared on Nov. 13, 2019 before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on Nov. 13 to discuss the report’s recommendations… Continue Reading
76 things you can do to boost civic engagement
Brookings: “The year 1776 was an auspicious year for democracy. The idea that a people could govern themselves was radical at the time. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that followed are for most Americans revered documents and a cornerstone of our democracy. Over the years, this idea of democratic republicanism has become central… Continue Reading
Six Ways for Election Officials to Prepare for High Voter Turnout in 2020
The Brennan Center for Justice – From early voting to streamlined registration, there are clear steps that will help shorten lines on Election Day. “We are now less than one year away from Election Day 2020, and Americans are projected to turn out at levels not reached since the early 20th century. Voter turnout has been steadily on… Continue Reading
Drivers overtaking bikes biggest reason for fatal cycling crashes
McClatchyDC: “Drivers overtaking bike riders are the biggest cause of death among cyclists, says a study released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. Bike safety is a growing problem that appears to be getting more worrisome, and, the board reported, “current available data likely underestimate the level of bicycling activity in the United States.”… Continue Reading
Senate Hearing on Modernizing Library of Congress
C-SPAN – “Carla Hayden, the head of the Library of Congress, testified before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on modernizing the library. She updated committee members on efforts to digitize and secure documents and described how the public would have more access to the library’s collections. Also testifying at the hearing was Karyn Temple,… Continue Reading
America on Trial
Jon Meacham, Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, author of The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels – TIME: “Here we are … trapped in a time of demagoguery, reflexive partisanship and a Hobbesian world of constant and total political warfare. We know all the factors: the return of the kind of partisan media… Continue Reading
The Executive’s Privilege: Rethinking the President’s Power to Withhold Information
LawFare:”What is “executive privilege”? In the specific context of information disputes between the executive branch and Congress, the Supreme Court has never addressed—let alone answered—that question. Nevertheless, as the Trump administration repeatedly relies on that constitutional doctrine to reject demands for information and testimony, the question has been at the forefront of a spate of… Continue Reading
The Government Protects Our Food and Cars. Why Not Our Data?
The New York Times – The United States is virtually the only developed nation without a comprehensive consumer data protection law and an independent agency to enforce it – “Why are Americans protected from hazardous laptops, fitness trackers and smartphones — but not when hazardous apps on our devices expose and exploit our personal information?… Continue Reading
Publication of Mueller Report’s Secret Memos Begins
“BuzzFeed News sued the US government to see all the work that Mueller’s team kept secret. We have published the first installment, with revelations about the Ukraine conspiracy theory, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, and more… In response to a court order, the Justice Department released the first installment of documents: hundreds of pages of summaries… Continue Reading
