Events
Balanced Budget Proposal Tilts on Procedure
Part of the debt limit deal last August was a provision mandating that both Houses vote on an amendment to the Constitution to require a balanced budget each year. When the House Judiciary Committee reported a version that required a two-thirds vote to raise taxes, House Republicans reversed the committee in favor a simple majority vote to attract Democrats. In this article from Roll Call's Procedural Politics column, Don Wolfensberger comments that while the procedural acrobatics to make this change were complicated, they still left the amendment short of the two-thirds vote needed for constitutional amendments.
Incivility Is Symptom of Larger Problem on Capitol Hill
October 1, 2007 By Don Wolfensberger,Roll Call Contributing Writer
In Blaming Republicans, Authors Miss the Point
Two prominent political scientists claim Republicans are principally to blame for Washington’s dysfunction because they are more extreme and less inclined to compromise. In this article, Don Wolfensberger notes Congress has been just as dysfunctional under Democratic majorities and the fault lies in the increasing polarization between the parties and the imperatives of “the permanent campaign” to hold on to power by shaping legislation for political purposes rather than finding common ground in the national interest.
Congress Should Police Itself on Ethics Violations
January 16, 2007 By Don Wolfensberger,Roll Call Contributing Writer
President's Disputed Pocket Veto Yields Quick Compromise
February 11, 2008 By Don Wolfensberger,Roll Call Contributing Writer
Congress Takes Recess From Pro Formas
So far this Congress has been spared the brief “pro forma” sessions used to block presidential recess appointments in previous Congresses. Both parties have done it to prevent a president of the other party from filling judicial or executive branch vacancies while Congress is away. A recent court decision however, may change all that.
Line-Item Veto Would Expedite a Rescission Collision
May 1, 2006By Don Wolfensberger,Roll Call Contributing Writer