Tax Bill Tuesday

The tax bill has cleared conference, which means the differences in the House version and the Senate version have been reconciled, and the bill now heads to the full Congress for a final vote.  Congress will begin voting on the bill tomorrow, and the House Rules Committee is at this moment meeting to decide how …

Senate Vote Thursday

Grab your phones without delay-the Senate is very likely to vote on their version of the tax bill tomorrow, and it is (at this time) very likely to pass by a slim margin.  Congress is anxious to pass this major legislation, as it is their last opportunity to pass any substantial bills before the year …

Puerto Rico Still Needs Us

It's been nearly a month since Hurricane Maria flattened the already impoverished U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, and many of the people of that island are in a desperate situation.  Four out of five people on the island still have no electricity and 56% of the population does not have access to running water or …

Current DACA Information

For those who may be impacted: this information is current (until dates listed) per the President's recent executive order suspending DACA. * If your initial or renewal DACA application is pending, then it will still be considered. * If you have not yet applied for DACA at any time, you are no longer able to …

The U.S. Constitution

I got a great question from a reader: "How did we get our Constitution?"  What an excellent topic!  In a nutshell, we got our Constitution after our original governing document, called the Articles of Confederation, failed.  During the American Revolution, delegates from the thirteen original states drafted a document commonly known as the Articles that …

DREAMers Make America Great

When I read the news that President Trump is considering using an executive order to suspend the DACA program originated by President Obama, I recalled how I came to this country with my parents, first at the age of two, and then once more at the age of nine after a few more years overseas.  …

How Congressional Leaders Are Selected

If you missed the posts from earlier this week about leadership in the House of Representatives and the Senate, you may want to check those out first. At the beginning of every Congressional session (in January of odd numbered years, following elections), each party meets up separately from the other.  This is called a caucus …

Leadership in the Senate

In case you missed it, check out yesterday's post for a discussion of leadership in the House of Representatives. There is no member of the Senate comparable in power to the Speaker of the House, and the highest-ranked leaders in the Senate generally have only ceremonial powers.  The Senate is designed to be a much …

Leadership in the House of Representatives

The party with the majority of members is called the majority party (or the party in power).  The party with the minority of members is called the minority party (or the party out of power).  Currently, we have a Republican majority in both houses of Congress.  The House is led by the Speaker of the …