Daniel Schuman

This Wednesday, the Rules Committee will hear member testimony on reforming the House. It's no secret that Congress (and the House specifically) is in shambles. What I think--and what people generally don't understand--is that's because it's transforming into something else.

As they contemplate how to fix the House, they must think through what are the mechanisms for controlling the House, who exercise it, and who should exercise it. You see, the eras of power in the House change because who pulls the levers changes when members collectively change the old system.

This Wednesday, the Rules Committee will hear member testimony on reforming the House. It's no secret that Congress (and the House specifically) is in shambles. What I think--and what people generally don't understand--is that's because it's transforming into something else.

@politico.com's Owen Dahlkamp published an excellent article on AI's limits when drafting legislation in Congress, featuring interviews with the people who built & oversaw AI drafting and comparison technology for Congress.

For 81 years, a little-known investigative team inside House Appropriations dug into how the federal government spent taxpayer dollars. Then the team disappeared. Now there’s another problem: much of its extraordinary archive appears to be missing.

Appropriators' Surveys & Investigations team produced thousands of inquiries and roughly 2,000 known study titles—on military spending, federal contracts, infrastructure, education, and much more. Their work shaped American history. So where are the records?

My chat with James Wallner start with "a magical, storied mountain, at the top of which are a group of people in robes." It cuts to pivotal moment where there's a flash of light, puff of smoke, and ascension of a mere senator to a committee, or perhaps even to committee chair.

Along the way (through Mordor, perhaps) we discuss why Sen. Schumer is unwilling to play hardball when Democrats currently have a functional majority on the Appropriations Committee and what exactly is going to happen with the Budget committee with the passing of Sen. Graham.

The Congressional Data Task Force is one of the legislative branch’s most important modernization forums. It began as a working group on releasing Congress.gov data & now brings together internal + external stakeholders to improve congressional data, tools & standards

The meeting showed how CDTF surfaces & connects major projects: bill text analysis tools, Senate and House modernization efforts, reports tracking, USLM updates, committee data, & more. The demos illustrated the coordination happening both in public and behind the scenes.

The Congressional Data Task Force is one of the legislative branch’s most important modernization forums. It began as a working group on releasing Congress.gov data & now brings together internal + external stakeholders to improve congressional data, tools & standards

This past Thursday's CDTF meeting showed how much the task force has matured. Offices across the legislative branch demoed powerful platforms they’ve built for congressional (& public) users, previewed what’s coming next, and answered questions and requests from stakeholders.

Whoah. As @hoyer.house.gov is arguing to member COLA, court issues opinion that says (cursory look) 27th amendment stops approps from varying pay in the way it has for 15 years. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...