The Top Line

Good morning, everyone.

I recently had the opportunity to attend LegisTech: Artificial Intelligence in Parliaments, a conference hosted by Bússola Tech and the Organization of American States here in Washington, D.C. The event, which brought together experts from around the world, was a fascinating look at the cutting edge of the intersection of AI and parliaments. A few newly released publications caught my eye, including a list of 60 AI use cases actively under consideration by parliaments around the world.

I’ve also been keeping up with the Hansard Society’s take on the British parliament’s current agenda. It’s intriguing to see the similarities and differences compared to our Congress. They’re wrestling with some of the same issues—like managing member conduct, addressing seniority, and reviewing ethical guidelines.

On a different note, the potential election of Sarah McBride, set to become the first openly transgender member of Congress, raises important questions about how the House will handle the expected hostile welcome and commensurate security risks arising from how she is greeted by some quarters of the chamber.

For those who love procedural deep dives, Senate reform is on the table once again. There’s buzz about changing Senate Republican Conference rules and some discussion of changes to the Senate seniority system and concerns arising from how seniority operates in the House. I also took a quick detour on the effects of tv cameras in the Senate.

Rounding things out are a discussion of how the Congress keeps track of past-due agency reports and the Washington Post‘s look at reimbursing members for work-related expenses.

Continue reading “FBF: AI, Senate Reform, and Big Challenges for Congress (10/14/2024)” →

Good morning and happy belated 4th of July! Did you miss receiving the First Branch Forecast? Well, we’re back and at our new home at the American Governance Institute.

It seems a few things happened while we were on hiatus. As usual, we’re going to stay focused on building a strong Congress, an accountable Executive branch, and a durable democracy.

Today’s issue is abbreviated, so let me name-check:

• The Supreme Court’s striking down of Chevron review, which is more about transferring power to the federal courts than to Congress. Everyone seems to want to do Congress’s job, which is reason #1 why Congress should act to strengthen itself.
• The Supreme Court’s creation of presidential immunity for official actions, which allows a president to commit unlawful acts without criminal accountability. Surely this won’t potentially create problems should a certain ex-president return to office.
• President Biden’s disastrous debate performance raised big questions about his competency, implicating the 25th Amendment, the ability of the press to learn about a president’s health and to accurately report that information, and what role (if any) there is for members of Congress in pushing out an incumbent. I think we’re about to break another precedent, folks.
• Several criminal and ethics proceedings against members, including Rep. Cuellar and Sen. Menendez.
• Did you think this would be the Congress where we saw an attempt to revive inherent contempt? There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, with some civil society groups and members pushing for a fix in the last Congress.
• Oh, and that funny Supreme Court is making enforcement of rules by agencies much harder.

Since this newsletter is coming to you from a new email address – firstbranch@americalabs.org –  please be sure to add it to your address book and forward it to anyone who might be interested. (They can subscribe here.) You can always email me directly at daniel@americalabs.org.

Continue reading “FBF: We’re back! Week of July 8, 2024” →