Debt limit episodes—which can be defined as starting when the statutory limit on federal debt restricts some of the U.S. Treasury’s normal debt operations and ending when new legislation to modify the limit is enacted—have been a recurrent federal fiscal feature in the past two decades. Since 2002, the debt limit has been modified 18 … Read more
“The U.S. Income Distribution: Trends and Issues,” CRS Report R44705 (55-page PDF) “Federal Criminal Law: January 6, 2021, Unrest at the Capitol,” CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10564 (9-page PDF) “Cybersecurity Concerns Related to the Recent Breach of U.S. Capitol Security,” CRS Insight IN11572 (5-page PDF) “Domestic Terrorism and the Attack on the U.S. Capitol,” CRS Insight … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms ‘Regular Order’: Lawmaking The Old-Fashioned Way | Ron’s Office Hours | NPR Many contemporary lawmakers urge a return to “regular order” lawmaking. In general, the regular order refers to a traditional, committee-centered process of lawmaking, very much in evidence during most of the … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Congressional Review Act: A new idea to eliminate Obama’s agency regulations The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is an oversight tool that Congress may use to overturn a rule issued by a federal agency, in some cases, rules issued in a previous session of … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms “Zero Based Budgeting is a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. Zero-based budgeting starts from a ‘zero base,’ and every function within an organization is analyzed for its needs and costs. Budgets are then built around what … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Backdoor Authority / Backdoor Spending A colloquial phrase for budget authority provided in laws other than appropriations acts, including contract authority and borrowing authority, as well as entitlement authority and the outlays that result from that budget authority. Fiscal Law #1 – Overview … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Obligation photo credit: smudie A legally binding agreement that will result in outlays, immediately or in the future. A promise to pay. The obligation, the promise to pay, is the initial action in the Federal spending process. Appropriations laws establish whether funds are available to … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Office of Personnel Management / Other People’s Money / OPM The core mission of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM): “serves the public by providing human resource management leadership and high-quality services that protect and strengthen the merit system of government in partnership with other … Read more
VeggieTales: Endangered Love (Barbara Manatee) – Silly Song Also see “Mace” in the Congressional Glossary VeggieTales on YouTube Courses Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing Custom Training Publications Legislative Drafter’s Deskbook: A Practical Guide Pocket Constitution … Read more
It has been sixty-nine years since the last of the infamous Chinese Exclusion laws were repealed allowing Chinese immigrants to become U.S citizens. Today, H. Res. 683, a bipartisan resolution expressing regret for six decades of legislation targeting the Chinese people for physical and political exclusion, was passed in the House of Representatives. With the … Read more