Tag: Congress

Grassroots campaign puts pressure on Congress to pass ‘Pay Our Troops Act’

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An advocacy group representing service members and their families nationwide has launched a campaign encouraging the public to contact their members of Congress in support of the Pay Our Troops Act of 2026.  The National Military Family Association says more than 10,000 letters have already been sent to Congress through its Military Family Action Center, urging lawmakers to pass the bill that would ensure that troops, Defense Department civilians and Coast Guard members continue to receive pay and benefits during this shutdown. The advocacy group made it easy for the…

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Trump blocks $4.9B in foreign aid Congress OK’d, using maneuver last seen nearly 50 years ago

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he won’t be spending $ 4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch. Trump, who sent a letter to Johnson, R-La., on Thursday, is using what’s known as a pocket rescission — when a president submits a request to Congress to not spend approved funds toward the end of the fiscal year, so Congress cannot act on the request in a 45-day timeframe and the money goes unspent…

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GAO responds to Congress on suggested changes to the bid protest function

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Interview transcript: Terry Gerton So we’re going to talk about Section 885. It’s in the 2025 National Defense Authorization. It got some press when that bill was passed. Can you refresh our memory about what this requires? Eric Crusius Sure, and this kind of has a longer history. For many years, Congress has been looking at curtailing protests and seeing if protests kind of get in the way of the efficient use of the procurement system, so to speak. There was a Section 809 panel a number of years ago.…

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Inside the battle for control of the Library of Congress

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Interview transcript: Terry Gerton There’s been a lot of conversation lately about the Library of Congress. And you’ve written about the current clash between the Trump administration and Congress and the library itself. Can you just give us a quick history of how the Library of Congress came to be and what its relationship normally is? Kevin Kosar The Library of Congress was born about 225 years ago. It was established by an act of Congress: Members realized that if they were going to legislate and legislate intelligently, it would…

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Army promises detailed transformation plan to Congress within 10 days

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Army officials told lawmakers they will provide a detailed briefing on the service’s new transformation initiative within the next ten days, following mounting pressure from Congress to explain plans for the sweeping overhaul announced more than a month ago. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for another round of questioning about the Army’s fiscal 2026 budget request. But formal details about program cuts and investment shifts tied to the service’s transformation initiative remain scarce. “The Army must change and…

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An objective look at Congress’ ability to conduct effective oversight

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Interview transcript: Terry Gerton: Well, you make a case in a recent paper that Congress has been neglecting its oversight role over the last two decades. What’s your evidence? J.D. Rackey: Yeah. So the claim is pretty well substantiated in political science literature, and I’m trying to raise that here in the D.C. world, that there’s been a long, steady, bipartisan decline in how Congress approaches its oversight. And there’s been a decline, in particular, in the number of hearings that Congress has been holding — and oversight hearings —…

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