By Michael Pierce This month, members of Congress have shown themselves paralyzed when it comes to protecting victims of sex trafficking, yet perfectly capable of acting to embarrass the President (or, as Obama argues, themselves). Less than two years ago, budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans deteriorated so far that the Federal Government actually shut down, costing the country $2,000,000,000 in lost productivity. The Washington status quo is unacceptable. But don't give up …
Let’s Make a Deal
By Daniel Pyon As the dust settles from the midterm elections, this much is clear: the final two years of President Obama’s administration will be one of two-party control. Accordingly, journalists and pundits are busy predicting what divided government means for issues on the President’s legislative agenda ranging like immigration, climate change, tax reform, and presidential appointments in both the executive and judicial branches. Of all these items, however, the area most likely to see …
Whatever Happened to NSA Reform?
By Jake Laperruque For the last year and a half, government surveillance and NSA monitoring have generated one of the most intense discussions in the country. The Snowden disclosures have not only brought the surveillance debate to the front page, congressional hearings, and the campaign trail, but have also significantly impacted public opinion: Most Americans believe that NSA practices have gone too far, and need to be reined in. Now Congress needs to act to reform these surveillance …
Campaign Finance Reform Defeated (Twice)
By Tom Watts Today, the Senate rejected a constitutional amendment that would have reversed many of the Supreme Court’s campaign finance decisions, most notably Citizens United. Combine this with the defeat of the lone Republican candidate for Senate who supported campaign finance reform and was backed by the Mayday SuperPAC, and the past couple days have not been good for campaign finance reform. This should come as no surprise: as I have recently argued, campaign finance reform is a dead end. …
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