congress
A handy guide to all Congress happenings on both sides of the aisle. Thank goodness for this political body that keeps Presidential power in check.
Bryanwatch - June 2021 II
A fairly slow week in Congress, with only 13 votes. Ten of them were party line and Representative Steil voted with the Republicans every time. On the one vote where Republicans were fairly evenly split (RC 177), Steil actually sided with the conservatives.
By John Heckenlively5 years ago in The Swamp
Public Servant, Private Slave
I’m sold. A sitting member of Congress would be a good thing to own. I could get them to sponsor bills I wanted, vote on ones I agree with, and give me tours of the Capitol so that I might be awed by Federal splendor. They could get one of my children into West Point or Annapolis, but those are just the minor perks. The big deal is the lawmaking.
By Stacey Roberts5 years ago in The Swamp
Bryan Watch - May 2021 II
To wrap the week, , the House followed up the January 6 Commission with a bill to improve security at the Capitol Complex. Republicans, to a person (including Steil), voted against making the very buildings they work in safer. Yes, that really happened (RC 156, May 20)
By John Heckenlively5 years ago in The Swamp
2021 Civic Action Project Fellow
Democracy has never been equal. It has never been easy and without trouble. These times and like other times, we must rise above the occasions. We must stand against all the injustices in the land because our nation must repay the issues of its beginning. We cannot turn a blind eye to this discouragement of unity. The most powerful force and freedom is the right to vote. Voters choose those who govern and ultimately decide the government. When we neglect to vote, we neglect to build a government that protects and provides liberty. America enjoys its liberty in every form. For liberty, the founding fathers fought one of the world's most powerful armies dreaming of a nation that cares about its citizens. For liberty, they fought to instill principles and education into citizens so they might in turn preserve the union and happily live at peace with their neighbor. For liberty, our soldiers fought relentlessly to keep America we know and love so dearly. To undermined voting is to undermine hope. Voting relies on faith in the common good of this nation. That wrongs can be repaid with good, that each one of us has a purpose to be at peace with one another. We must set aside all divisions, punished every discrimination, and fight for every American through the will of the people revealed through voting. I cannot stress it enough. Voting is sacred to the union. Voting is the highest citizen duty to their country and the true test of patriotism. It is up to us to take the lead and fight suppression. It is up to us to be the will of the people and fight for representation. Laws can be changed and legislation must represent America. We cannot swear allegiance to obey when the laws are injustice. History has taught that Americans naturally and gradually refused and even revolt against strict and authoritative leadership. Yet our future is being decided for us blindly in the past and presently. And if we do not fight then it is clear our rights will be stripped of us, and the policies we care so dear, about might be destroyed through the process. Granted that we need more representation and more political awareness by the people. The people must be told the truth that gerrymandering denies justice. Districts have been historically decided by competitive striving bureaucrats meant for the people to lose. When the people who have no interest in unity are controlling the government then the people lose. When we stand idly by and watch without working earnestly, the people lose. There comes a time where courage is needed. Courage is not exactly necessary but it is prevalent against fear. We must rise above every fear challenging the legacy we know and building the legacy we should have. Justice is the purpose of government. Voting is meant to find the leaders who will administer it. America needs those who can stand on their bootstraps and fight for justice. Those who can call out the wrong and challenge it with the ideas that will bring freedom. Those who can stand away from the ideologies of division and indifference. America needs towers of strengths and pillars of wisdom to guide the will of the people. We need it now for education is nothing without purpose and character. We must show purpose and character to create a nation of strength and moral conquest. I hope you join me and commit your legacy to this enduring principle and concept that we must protect every vote and end the lie. Your vote matters and your voice has to be heard. The time is now.
By Distinguished Honorary Alumni Dr. Matthew Primous5 years ago in The Swamp
A Country Without Pity
These are the times that try men's souls. If you really think about it. The times of today where so much anger, hate, confusion and bewilderment about what the hell is happening to our world defies logic. From a pandemic that should never have been, to an unimaginable global humanitarian crisis and our own government where those little minds {Republican and Democrats} keep tearing this nation apart contributes toward the downward trajectory of mankind.
By Dr. Williams5 years ago in The Swamp
Bryan Watch: Mar 2021 II
Congress dealt with two three issues this week. The biggest was President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package (HR 1319), which passed the Senate March 6. Next was HR 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. And the third was gun violence and background checks, with H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act up for votes.
By John Heckenlively5 years ago in The Swamp
Bryan Watch: Mar 2021 I
In some respects, it is Deja Vu in the House this week, as bills from 2019 and 2020 were introduced once again. HR 1, the For the People Act, is a comprehensive package of election and campaign finance reforms. It passed the House in March 2019, and sat on Mitch McConnell’s desk for the next 18 months.
By John Heckenlively5 years ago in The Swamp
Bryan Watch: Feb 27
The House stuck around for a rare Saturday session to vote on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, HR 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act. Not surprisingly, it passed on completely partisan lines, with not a single Republican (0 to 210) voting to provide Americans with relief from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic (RC 49, Feb 27)
By John Heckenlively5 years ago in The Swamp
Can Congress be considered to fulfil its legislative and oversight function well?
Woodrow Wilson stated in 1885 that “congress in its committee rooms is congress at work.” This statement is no more evident in today’s functions of Congress, where congressional committees set the legislative possibilities that each Congress can obtain. The question is, however, does Congress lack a good function in its legislative and oversight agenda, or does it fulfil its tasks well enough? The 116th Congress (2019 to 2021) is of no more than a prime example in assessing its lacking legislative function, with only one per cent of its laws enacted. Nonetheless, no matter its inexactitude over the function, it is Congress’s position which enshrines the United States’ separation of powers and therefore highlights Congress’s role to fulfil its legislative and oversight function well.
By Ewan Wilson5 years ago in The Swamp
