California recently finalized its redistricting map. The state lost one seat after the 2020 Census, but the Golden State still will send a whopping 52 legislators to the 435-member House of Representatives in January 2023. By law, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) draws the congressional districts, along with the boundaries for the state’s Senate, assembly, […]
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The one crucial thing Congress is missin...
The Senate is set to pass legislation as soon as today to bolster the U.S. Postal Service’s flagging finances. The measure was supported by Democrats and Republicans and will then head to President Joe Biden’s desk, having already cleared the House in February. Securing any bipartisan agreement in this town is a rare event, worthy […]
1 cheer for postal reform
This week, the House of Representatives voted to advance postal reform legislation by 342 to 92. That Democrats and Republicans alike could vote, in an election year, no less, for H.R. 3076 is praiseworthy. Postal reform is rare; only two significant postal reform bills have been enacted in the past half-century. Moreover, this usually drab issue has become […]
How to end the voting wars
January was an intense month in the ongoing voting wars between the two major parties. Even the most eager observer of election politics likely was exhausted by it all. The frenzy began with various media remembrances of the Jan. 6, 2020 riot in the Capitol that delayed the presidential transition. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ensured […]
Is there a path forward for Congress on ...
Last month’s party-line vote in the Senate to not enact new elections reform legislation was unsurprising. The legislation had been drawn up by congressional Democrats, and was presented to the GOP as a take-it-or-leave it proposition. Republicans saw little to like in the sprawling 700-page bill that combined both the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and a […]
House committees are hearing from fewer ...
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress met, as you probably haven’t heard. That’s partly because it was a sober affair, with members dutifully listening to experts about improving how members legislate instead of giving speeches masquerading as questions….(Read more)