Last Paper 2026

Answer one of the following:

1. The authors of Congress and Its Members finished writing the 20th edition about one year ago. Pick any chapter in Part IV of the book (ch. 10-15) and write a three-page update. What major events since April 2025 confirm, disconfirm, or complicate their analysis? (Make sure to re-read the chapter carefully before answering.)

2. Pick any law that Congress has passed since (and including) 1975. Explain how that law has directly affected you or someone you know. Did the drafters of the law anticipate such an impact? If so, how? If not, why not?

3. You may also write on a relevant topic of your choice, subject to my approval and revision.

• Essays should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than three pages long. I will not read past the third page.
• Submit papers as Word documents, not pdfs or Google docs.
• Cite your sources with endnotes in standard Turabian format. Endnote pages do not count against the page limit.
• Misrepresenting AI-generated content as your own work is plagiarism and will result in severe consequences.
• Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you -- especially errors that I have noted on previous papers.
• Return essays (again, as Word documents, not pdfs) to Canvas by 11:59 PM, Wednesday, May 6. (If you have trouble uploading, simply email it to me as an attached Word document.) I reserve the right to dock papers one grade point for one day’s lateness, a full letter grade after that.

Domestic Politics II

 For Monday, Davidson, ch. 15.  Ath event (not mandatory)

Finishing Fiscal Politics

Budget tables:  function, subfunction, agency

Debt as share of GDP

THE DEBT LIMIT

What happens if the US government defaults on the federal debt?

CBS poll found that people oppose raising the debt limit -- until they find out what it means.

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Russell Berman, "Public Anger Is Rising, The Atlantic, April 1, 2026.  About Congress and DHS

• October 1, 2025: The government enters a full shutdown after Congress fails to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills.
• November 12, 2025: President Trump signs H.R. 5371, ending the 43-day shutdown. This legislation provides:Full-year funding for Agriculture, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-VA.
• Temporary funding (CR) for all other agencies through January 30, 2026.
• January 23, 2026: Three additional full-year bills are enacted (Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water, and Interior-Environment), leaving six bills outstanding.
• January 31 – February 3, 2026: A brief 4-day partial shutdown occurs after the January 30 deadline passes without a new deal.
• February 3, 2026: Congress passes a package funding most remaining agencies through the end of FY2026 (September 30), but provides only a two-week CR for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through February 13.

Trump claimed authority under One Big Beautiful Bill to spend border money to pay employees throughout DHS.  That money will run out in a couple of weeks.

Immigration more generally (start around 2:00)

The rise and fall of border crossings

Domestic Policy I

Last paper assignment on Wed.

Short reading for Wed:

• Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Russell Berman, "Public Anger Is Rising, The Atlantic, April 1, 2026.  About Congress and DHS.
  
  

A few questions

• Suppose your income places you in the 22% bracket.  How much of your income do you think is taxed at a rate of 22%?
• Agree or disagree: large tax refunds are a good thing.
• What tax rate applies to the top US federal income tax bracket?
• How much do you think the top 1% of taxpayers by income account for in terms of share of total federal taxes paid?

Constitutional Provisions

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.”
— U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 7, clause 1

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

-- U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 8, clause 12

“No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.”
— U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 9, clause 7

What follows would baffle a Martian.

Authorization (Davidson 408)

• Reauthorization as a form of oversight
• Lapsed authorizations:

Appropriation

• Also a form of oversight 

• Budget Authority
• Outlay
• Continuing resolutions

"The Budget Process" and key documents:

• The president's budget
• CBO reports

Revenue Bills and RECONCILIATION (Davidson 415-418)

Revenues -- Where the money comes from:

The federal tax system is more progressive than most people realize.  Effective federal tax rates:

Outlays -- Where the money goes

Mandatory spending

Budget tables:  function, subfunction, agency

Debt as share of GDP

THE DEBT LIMIT

  What happens if the US government defaults on the federal debt?

CBS poll found that people oppose raising the debt limit -- until they find out what it means.

Judiciary and Congressional Ethics

For next time, Davidson, ch. 14.  Besides DHS, what domestic issues do you want to discuss on Wednesday?

From last time:

Merrick Garland and "the Biden Rule"

Gorsuch and the nuclear option

KBJ

Blue Slips and Senatorial Courtesy (Davidson, 368-370) Applies to US Attorneys.

The Trump record on the courts 

History

• Article I, sec. 6 puts some limit on criminal and civil actions against lawmakers: "They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place."
• Article I, section 5, clause 2: "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member."
• The Senate has expelled only 15 members, 14 for supporting the Confederacy.
• The House has expelled only 6, 3 for supporting the Confederacy.
• Pre-1960s: Lax, often informal disciplinary proceedings.
• 1964: Following allegations against powerful staffer Robert G. Baker, the Senate created the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct.  LBJ tried and failed to scuttle the investigation
• 1967: House Committee Established: In response to investigations into Representative Adam Clayton Powell, the House established the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
• 1977: Post-Watergate Reforms: Both chambers revamped their ethics procedures, with the House establishing a temporary Select Committee on Ethics (leading to new financial disclosure rules) and the Senate renaming its committee to the Select Committee on Ethics.
• 2008: Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE): The House created this independent office to review misconduct allegations and report to the Ethics Committee.  New name: Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC)
• 2011: The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was renamed the House Committee on Ethics.

Censures and reprimands

Senate censure 

Watch Santos expulsion and Menendez resignation

Read Menendez indictment

Censure as political weapon:  House andSchiff

Congress and the Judiciary

On Wednesday, we discuss scandal and the congressional disciplinary process. Will post a reading.  By coincidence, this week is the perfect time for this subject.

For next week, which domestic issues do you want to discuss?

Don 't forget your weekly writeups by the end of the week.

SCOTUS as a check on Congress

• Federal statutes that SCOTUS has overturned.
• Upholding Obamacare (Davidson 346)  CA v. TX decision
• "Judicial activism" (347)
• Regulations and The end of Chevron deference

Congress as a check on the judiciary

Court-stripping (Davidson 355-356)

Amending the Constitution

11th Amendment (1795): Overturned Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), which had allowed citizens of one state to sue another state in federal court, restricting federal judicial power over states.

13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery, effectively overturning aspects of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which had ruled that Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories.

14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship to all born/naturalized in the US, directly overturning the Dred Scott ruling that African Americans could not be citizens.

16th Amendment (1913): Authorized a federal income tax, overturning Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), which had declared a federal income tax unconstitutional.

26th Amendment (1971): Lowered the voting age to 18, overturning part of Oregon v. Mitchell (1970), which held that Congress could set voting ages for federal elections but not state/local elections. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Impeachment of Judges and the strange case of Alcee Hastings and his comeback De mortuis nil nisi bonum

 Supreme Court Nominations (361-367)

Fortas roll call:  a filibuster precedent..

Clarence Thomas.

In hearings, senators try to get judicial nominees on the record.  NOTE WHAT ALITO SAYS (START AT 18:45) ABOUT STARE DECISIS.

Feinstein stepped in it when ACB was up for Court of Appeals

Merrick Garland and "the Biden Rule" 

Gorsuch and the nuclear option 

KBJ

Blue Slips and Senatorial Courtesy (Davidson, 368-370)

Applies to US Attorneys:

The Trump record on the courts 

Congress and Bureaucracy II

Questions on the writeup?

For Monday, Davidson ch. 12

Today, no in-person student hour but available for Zoom after 2 pm  and tomorrow between 10 and 3. Please email me first.

For Wed: will post article on censure, reprimand, and other issues surrounding misconduct.

From last time:

Congress "organizes" the executive:

• The "organization" of DHS.
• DNI and the intelligence community

Subpoenas and Contempt of Congress (see Cassidy & RFK above)

• Inherent contempt
• Civil contempt
• Criminal contempt

Impeachment (Davidson, 338)

Article I, Section 3, Clause 7:

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Alexander Hamilton (in Federalist No. 72)

An avaricious man, who might happen to fill the office, looking forward to … yield[ing] up the emoluments he enjoyed … might not scruple to have recourse to the most corrupt expedients.

An ambitious man, too, when … seated on the summit of his country’s honors, … would be … violently tempted to embrace a favorable conjuncture for attempting the prolongation of his power, at every personal hazard.

The Grounds

• Treason (the sole indictment since 1954)
• Bribery
• High Crimes and Misdemeanors Precedent from England?
• Gerald R. Ford 1970: "An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

There is no appeal.

Andrew Johnson Impeachment -- see esp. Article Ten

Impeachment v. Bill of Attainder

Persons subject to impeachment

(A separate process for disciplining members of Congress.  More a week from today)

The list

The Process

• The House
• "Due process" does not apply.
• The Fifth Amendment says no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Impeachment merely removes a person from office.
• The Senate
• The rules
• The role of the Chief Justice

The Special Case of the President

The "take care" clause

At Harvard Law Review, Andrew Kent.Ethan J. Leib, and Jed Handelsman Shugerman have an article titled "Faithful Execution and Article II." From the abstract:

Article II of the U.S. Constitution twice imposes a duty of “faithful execution” on the President, who must “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” and take an oath or affirmation to “faithfully execute the Office of President.

Nixon

Congress & Bureaucracy

Constituents remember good constituent service:

Weekly email writeups resume next week.  Focus on sim paper and peer evaluations (if you have not already submitted yours).

What else do you want to discuss in the remainder of the course?

LARP v IRL

• Compressed time
• No dilatory tactics
• No press, public, staff, House, or SCOTUS
• Limited role of POTUS (see below)
• Inherent limitations of simulation
• But role-play is still powerful

NAIL: Nominations, Appropriations, Investigations, Legislation

Nominations 

• Article II, sec. 2: "[H]e shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.:
• Extent of confirmation power (about 1200 jobs)
• Schedule F?
• Nominations: Senate data
• "Nuclear option" (back to Davidson 243).  Dems in 2013 with executive and lower-court noms.  Reps in 2017 with SCOTUS.  WHERE YOU STAND DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU SIT.
• Cabinet nominations rejected or withdrawn
• Hearings:   McCain in 2014 on nominee for Norway ambassador (at 2;20) Whitehouse and CEQ.
• Cassidy and RFK:

• Oopsie -- but what can Cassidy do now?

Appropriations

• Limitation riders and the case of ACA

Investigation and Oversight 

• GAO 
• CBO
• CRS
• Diminished institutional capacity
• The role of the press -- featuring an alum of this course!!

Legislation: Executive Branch Organization and Laws on Reporting

• Inspectors General  (Trump firings)
• Reporting requirements
• The old legislative veto (Davidson 334-35) and the Congressional Review Act.  (Davidson, 326)
• Congress "organizes" the executive:
  --  The "organization" of DHS.
-- DNI and the intelligence community

• Inherent contempt
• Civil contempt 
• Criminal contempt

Next time:  Congress and DOGE