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May 19, 2023
Recently, the Republican-led House of Representatives has been at odds with the Democrat-led Senate and President Joe Biden over raising the debt ceiling. This issue touches on one of the fundamental powers of Congress—setting the budget for the federal government. Disagreements over spending have led to the current divide between the Republican and Democratic Parties […]
March 31, 2023
On March 23, 2023, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing as part of an ongoing review of TikTok and its connections to the Chinese government. TikTok CEO Shou Chew was the focus of the hearing and took questions from members of Congress on a wide range of topics, including the ways […]
February 10, 2023
There is currently a bill in Congress, S.794 – Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act of 2021, that would increase taxes on companies on the basis of their CEO-to-worker compensation ratio. The legislation, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and cosponsored by a host of Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), has progressed to the Senate […]
January 25, 2023
When the 118th Congress convened on January 3, what is usually a quick procedural vote for speaker turned into a contentious five days of voting on the floor of the House of Representatives.1 The frustrations, negotiations, and heated debates were on display on C-SPAN. Since the House could not adopt rules without a speaker—members-elect could […]
January 18, 2023
An under-the-radar rule change proposed by Democrats in the House of Representatives in the waning days of 117th Congress could potentially increase members’ yearly compensation. The provision, approved by the House Administration Committee, would allow reimbursement for a number of living expenses, including lodging, food, and travel in Washington, D.C. How Much Do Members of […]
December 07, 2022
The Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act on November 29, and the House of Representatives is expected to pass it this week. President Joe Biden has already said he will sign it. The bill is the result of months of work by congressional leaders to create legislative protections for same-sex married couples. The History […]
November 17, 2022
By the end of the day on Election Day, 47 percent of eligible voters in the United States had cast a ballot in the 2022 midterm elections.1 After a week of waiting with several races still uncalled, heading to a runoff, or requiring a recount, it looks like Republicans will have a slim majority in […]
September 14, 2022
The year 2022 has seen a historic surge in labor organizing and union activity. While union organizing at Starbucks and Amazon has garnered the most media attention, the labor rights movement has also been active on university campuses, at newspapers and other publishers, and in the high-tech industry at Google, Microsoft, Apple, and other companies. […]
February 15, 2022
Last month, Senators Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., introduced the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, a reform bill which would require members of Congress to divest their stock market investments or face fines totaling the entire amount of their congressional salary.1 So, should members of Congress be allowed to trade stocks? According to […]
January 04, 2022
Already facing the enormous challenge of addressing spiking cases of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant, President Joe Biden’s administration was presented with a new challenge when Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced that he would not support the $2 trillion spending plan known as Build Back Better. Citing concerns over the level of spending on […]
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