- Details
-
Category: Legislative Process (Government)
-
Published: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
-
Written by PT Editors
Today's Congress is a different group from the congenial group that first met in 1789: members oversee some 200 committees and subcommittees charged with disposing of the 9,000 bills introduced each session. Have too many moving parts put the national legislature beyond the control of even its most ardent supporters?
In its purest form, "policy" defines a course of action that outlines how the government is run, preferably in a way that promotes the nation's safety and general welfare. Somebody (or bodies) has to take the wheel, articulate a shared vision, and then build a consensus to implement it.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Legislative Process (Government)
-
Published: Friday, 27 October 2006
-
Written by Howard Unger
The 110th Congress will welcome dozens of new members into its ranks on January 4th. Let the fundraising begin.
For new members of Congress, freshman year used to be about making friends. These days, it's about making money. Friends are okay. Just as long as they're from your own party.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Legislative Process (Government)
-
Published: Thursday, 5 October 2006
-
Written by Howard M. Unger
The blogosphere is still abuzz over "Net Neutrality," but as Congress winds down, among the biggest winners in the debate are candidates' war chests.
Of the thousands of bills introduced in Congress each year, one or two issues usually emerge from the legislative cauldron to become subjects of major policy debates. By pitting special interests against each other, these debates also become battlegrounds for lobbyists and fundraisers.
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Legislative Process (Government)
-
Published: Friday, 15 September 2006
-
Written by Jessica B. Jones
February 1, 2006
Oversight in the legislative process is implied, but how effective is it? {mosimage}
Oversight is a congressional obligation, but one frequently overlooked in legislators' focus on reelection. "They don't spend nearly enough time overseeing government agencies," laments Lodi, CA mayor John Beckman. "They think that because we call them 'legislator,' their job is to create more laws. They're failing in their primary responsibilities, which are to oversee the budget and various government agencies."
Read more ...
- Details
-
Category: Legislative Process (Government)
-
Published: Tuesday, 6 July 2004
-
Written by John Foley
August 9, 2006
Congress has a lot of good apples, so why don't they toss out the bad ones?
Silence. The proverb says it's golden, but just as often it can preserve the blight that undermines the system. We're first exposed to the disgrace of "tattling" on the playground, where snitches face ridicule and social exile at the lunch table. In the Sicilian mafia, the code of silence is called "Omertà," and those who break it gamble with their lives.
Read more ...
