Simulation and Life

Stuff that real lawmakers do with social media: http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/29/state-of-the-union-14-things-members-of-congress-did-on-social-media

A site for tweets that lawmakers deleted: http://politwoops.sunlightfoundation.com

And Senator Dan Coats (R-IN) has a "well, that was awkward" moment:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/sen-coats-im-at-the-wrong-hearing/2014/04/03/00174c06-bb64-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_video.html 

Tax Lobbying

The New York Times reports (h/t Julian B):

Just two days after he proposed a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s tax code, Representative Dave Camp, Republican of Michigan, traveled to Park City, Utah, for a glittering fund-raiser attended by lobbyists from some of the nation’s largest corporations, all with enormous stakes in the tax battle to come.

The event was intended to honor Mr. Camp, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, whose 979-page tax plan would cut the overall corporate tax rate by creating a new bank tax and a surtax on the very wealthy, among many other changes.

But this gathering ended up serving a decidedly different purpose: the unofficial kickoff of a push to make sure that Mr. Camp’s tax plan dies, a campaign that is highly likely to succeed, particularly now that Mr. Camp himself essentially conceded defeat, announcing this week he will not seek re-election this year.

The twist reflects how lobbying in Washington — and the millions of dollars in fees that lobbyists collect — are often about stopping action and preserving the status quo. Whenever Congress considers major changes to the tax code, lobbyists buy insurance on both sides of the fight. It also reflects a pivot by lobbyists who had spent months cheering Mr. Camp’s three-year effort to draft this giant package, given that its stated purpose was to lower corporate tax rates and simplify the tax code, and who are now working to make sure that the package never becomes law.

“There is no doubt that what they have done is put a big target out there on the backs of some industries,” said Jeffrey A. Forbes, a former staff director at the Senate Finance Committee turned tax lobbyist, who was not at the Park City fund-raising event but represents clients who were.

The undisputed winners of the legislative battle so far are the lobbying shops themselves. Senior congressional tax staff members have already named Mr. Camp’s push the “Build a Vacation Home for a Tax Lobbyist Act.”

Lobbyists say they have to be zealous because the tax code hits almost every corporate interest.

“If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” said Heather Podesta, a lobbyist whose firm, Heather Podesta & Partners, has at least 10 tax-related corporate clients.

Another Ad Blunder

Mitch McConnell, who is facing steep competition in Kentucky, got some bad press recently for a split second mix-up in his most recent campaign ad. In a clip at the end of the the ad, there is a shot of basketball players celebrating a championship. The intended team was Kentucky's own University of Kentucky Wildcats but unfortunately the shot features two Duke players. His opponents have immediately jumped on the blunder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/us/politics/mcconnell-increases-lead-in-embarrassing-viral-videos.html

President, Congress, Judiciary

Simulation

A big gaffe

Newt Gingrich, Lessons Learned the Hard Way (1998):

We had not only failed to take into account the ability of the Senate to delay us and obstruct us, but we had much too cavalierly underrated the power of the President, even a President who had lost his legislative majority and was in a certain amount of trouble for other reasons. I am speaking of the power of the veto. Even if you pass something through both the House and the Senate, there is that presidential pen. How could we have forgotten that? For me especially it was inexcusable, because when I was Republican whip during the Bush Administration one of my duties had been precisely to help sustain presidential vetoes.

Rules and The Federal Register

The Congressional Review Act.

Legislative Veto and the Presentation Clause (Art I, sec. 7, clause 3): Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

NAIL:  Nominations, Appropriations, Investigations, Legislation

Nominations

• Nominations: Senate data
• Cabinet nominations rejected or withdrawn

Appropriations

• Limitation riders

Investigations & Oversight -- more after the simulation

Legislation:  Executive Branch Organization

Supreme Court 

House of Claremont

I will use a video camera to record much of the simulation.  Please add some Underwood-style asides.

You may either make up your own, or draw from Sun Tzu's The Art of War

Congress and the President

LBJ orders some pants.

Article I and Article II
Executive orders
Signing Statements 

Vetoes
Statements of Administration Policy 

1— Strongly Support Passage
2— Support Passage
3— Do not Object to Passage
4— No Position on Passage
5— Oppose
6— Strongly Oppose
7— Secretary’s veto Threat (single and multiple agency)
8— Senior Advisor’s Veto Threat
9— Presidential Veto Threat

Presidential success scores
Presidential approval

The Johnson Treatment

First class flights for members of Congress

House Rep. Paul Gosar (R AZ) asked the Appropriations Committee to ban members of Congress from  using their congressional funds for first class plane tickets. The savings would be a drop in the bucket, but Gosar's request is a matter of principle… and politics. His office has written three press releases in the last two days praising his request.

Also, it looks like Congress will not permanently fix the Medicare doctor pay formula and will instead simply extend the doc fix.