Rest Up! The 115th Congress is Around the Corner!
Well, here I am folks. I leave Washington tomorrow, bound for some much-needed time at home over the holidays. It's hard to believe that I am already one-third of the way through my Congressional fellowship. I spend most days feeling like I don't know what's going on around me and that I don't know anything. Then I remind myself of how much more I know now, than I did in September. True, that, but it's difficult to stay focused on that truth, when so many unknowns are zipping by my head daily, if not hourly. Here's a brief mention of the things that I have learned, but I suspect that I'm going to learn a "whole lot" more (not sure that is quantifiable) when the 115th Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2017.
There has been a tremendous amount of talk about the CRA since our new president was elected. The CRA allows Congress to swiftly overturn rules and regulations that have been established by the Executive Branch within the past 60 "session days." The potential for the CRA to be used is especially likely when the president and both houses of Congress are in the same majority party and when that party differs from the outgoing president. The CRA was passed in 1996, but has only been used once, in 2001, right after "W" took control of the White House. That year, Congress overturned a rule from OSHA that had to do with ergonomics of one's work setting. It is expected that Congress, with support from the new administration, will take a hard look at anything that was put in place under the Obama administration after May 30, 2016. Here's a list, from the majority party themselves, of what will be considered.
The most major event will occur early in the Congressional calendar, a budget resolution. Normally, there is only one budget resolution for each year, but this year, there will likely be two--one early in the legislative session and another later in the spring. The goal of the first, will be to de-fund the Affordable Care Act. I read that having two budget resolutions is legally impossible, so I don't know how this will work, but apparently it will happen. It is also my understanding that budget resolutions involve something called a vote-o-rama... Yes! That is a real word!! This is when the Senate sticks it out, no one goes home, until every amendment on the proposed budget is resolved. I understand that members of Congress and their staffers stay until all hours of the night or morning, hammering out the deal under strict time limits. No one leaves until it is resolved. Period.
So, this is it folks. I'm one-third the way through my time in Washington. Some days I'm ready to go home to Amesbury. Other days, I feel that I've just barely started my experience. I pledge that for the next two-thirds I'm going to get out into the city more, visit more museums, write fewer academic papers, see one of the daily free performances at the Kennedy center, explore the neighborhood, attend a military band performance, and visit the memorials more - especially Mr. Lincoln. But, apparently what I should really do is rest up! Soon I'll be back for vote-o-rama!
- What impresses me most about working among Congressional staffers is that they get stuff done. In my normal academic life, as a professor of social policy and research methods, I read or hear about things that are troubling and think, "Hmmm. Someone should do something about this. Maybe I could study this a bit and add to our knowledge base." Here in Congress, I work with people who read and hear those same stories, but they go to work and say, "What can we do to address this problem?" Now that, is inspiring.
- Congressional staffers are open people. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of bravado on the hill, but staffers have to be open to hearing from others and to learn from them. They are incredibly well-connected and use those connections to provide them with a foundation. Staffers are experts at what they do, but they routinely call on "content experts" to give them the bottom line so that they can address the concerns of those who are in need and who often have no voice. One of the greatest impressions that Murray made on me was his ability to be open and to have his ideas and original work critiqued. Who would have guessed that I would find the same lesson here on Capitol Hill? It's just so damned hard for a New Englander to be open...
- I have already written about the immense power that a single senator can wield over his colleagues. If you're ever heard how a single oboist can crash and burn an entire ensemble's performance, than you know what I mean...
- I have learned that people with whom I work are so knowledgeable about child welfare issues. So am I, but we are knowledgeable in completely different ways. I have learned so much from them already. Let's just start with the federal funding of the child welfare system. The Cliff Notes version is that it is funded through Title IV-B and Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. Moreover, the funding is largely contingent on whether the families who are being served would have been eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children in 1996. Yes, the welfare system that we abolished with "welfare reform" in 1996. We still use that as a guideline for funding foster care services and training for workers in the states. It's not surprising that fewer and fewer families meet those 1996 guidelines, which means that states increasingly are picking up the tab. Click here to learn more.
- I have also learned some, and I hope to learn more, about Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or "welfare reform." There is a great resource by Peter the Citizen, who writes, sometimes weekly papers about the problems with this program. Most of the people I have encountered here, conservative or liberal, agree that needy families largely do not use TANF anymore and that states use the TANF block grant to fund programs other than TANF.
There has been a tremendous amount of talk about the CRA since our new president was elected. The CRA allows Congress to swiftly overturn rules and regulations that have been established by the Executive Branch within the past 60 "session days." The potential for the CRA to be used is especially likely when the president and both houses of Congress are in the same majority party and when that party differs from the outgoing president. The CRA was passed in 1996, but has only been used once, in 2001, right after "W" took control of the White House. That year, Congress overturned a rule from OSHA that had to do with ergonomics of one's work setting. It is expected that Congress, with support from the new administration, will take a hard look at anything that was put in place under the Obama administration after May 30, 2016. Here's a list, from the majority party themselves, of what will be considered.
The most major event will occur early in the Congressional calendar, a budget resolution. Normally, there is only one budget resolution for each year, but this year, there will likely be two--one early in the legislative session and another later in the spring. The goal of the first, will be to de-fund the Affordable Care Act. I read that having two budget resolutions is legally impossible, so I don't know how this will work, but apparently it will happen. It is also my understanding that budget resolutions involve something called a vote-o-rama... Yes! That is a real word!! This is when the Senate sticks it out, no one goes home, until every amendment on the proposed budget is resolved. I understand that members of Congress and their staffers stay until all hours of the night or morning, hammering out the deal under strict time limits. No one leaves until it is resolved. Period.
So, this is it folks. I'm one-third the way through my time in Washington. Some days I'm ready to go home to Amesbury. Other days, I feel that I've just barely started my experience. I pledge that for the next two-thirds I'm going to get out into the city more, visit more museums, write fewer academic papers, see one of the daily free performances at the Kennedy center, explore the neighborhood, attend a military band performance, and visit the memorials more - especially Mr. Lincoln. But, apparently what I should really do is rest up! Soon I'll be back for vote-o-rama!
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