Congress and the Executive Branch

For next Monday, read:

Casey Burgat, “Congressional Undersight,” R Street Institute, November 2019, https://www.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/188-2.pdf

For Wed, Davidson, ch. 12 

Presidents and Persuasion

• LBJ and negotiation
• Interview with the Bush leg affairs shop
• The Biden legislative affairs shop
• CQ on presidential success (review from a few weeks ago)

Presidential approval and the "decay curve"

NAIL:   Nominations, Appropriations, Investigations, Legislation

Nominations 

• Extent of confirmation power
• Nominations: Senate data
• Cabinet nominations rejected or withdrawn
• Hearings:  Whitehouse and White; DeVos

Appropriations

• Limitation riders and the case of ACA

Investigation and Oversight (more on Monday about congressional capacity)

• GAO -
• CBO
• CRS
• Diminished institutional capacity

Legislation:  Executive Branch Organization and Laws on Reporting 

• Inspectors General  (POTUS WAS DISPLEASED!)
• Reporting requirements
• The old legislative veto and the Congressional Review Act.  Democrats do not like it now, but will like it more if they get unified control.
• Congress "organizes" the executive:
  --  The "organization" of DHS.
-- DNI and the intelligence community

26 USC 6103

Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.

Subpoenas and Contempt of Congress

• The definitive encyclopedia article!
• Inherent contempt
• Civil contempt 
• Criminal contempt