Something remarkable occurred on Capitol Hill this month: Congress and the president partnered to make a law that cut the budgets of a few federal entities. A rescission of funds has not occurred since 1999, when former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, struck a deal with the Republican-held House and Senate. This legislation cuts various international aid programs run by the […]
Congress tries to ban insider trading by...
Media stories erupted recently about Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) financial dealings. “Stock market watchdog claims Nancy Pelosi raked in $4.7M in a single day of trading,” reads one headline about the 38-year House member from San Francisco, who was speaker from 2007 to 2011 and 2019 to 2023…. (Read more)
Trump and Congress clash over who has fi...
Who is in charge of the Library of Congress: Congress or the president? Until recently, the settled answer in Washington was that the world’s largest library was, as its name states, a legislative branch agency…. (Read more)
House GOP shuts down Democrats’ oversigh
House Republicans recently sank numerous Democratic efforts to investigate President Donald Trump’s administration, but anyone who is not a close watcher of Congress would be forgiven for missing this late April development. The roadblock was erected through a vote on a House rule, parliamentary parlance for a resolution establishing the parameters of floor debate. That can include delineating which […]
Congressional republicans aim to nix Bid...
Late in March, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives turned their energies to appliances. They passed two resolutions to strike down energy conservation regulations affecting the manufacture of walk-in coolers, and commercial refrigerators and freezers. The Energy Department finalized these rules near the end of former President Joe Biden’s administration…. (Read more)
Lawmakers try to stop the hundreds of bi...
Last year, the U.S. government made at least $162 billion in improper payments, according to a nonpartisan government watchdog. Kristin Kociolek of the Government Accountability Office also told a House oversight subcommittee that the government was defrauded of $233 billion to $521 billion per year between 2018 and 2022….(Read more)