Federal Legislative Branch

Our Research & Offerings on Federal Legislative Branch
  • Issue Brief posted May 18, 2012 by Matt Mayer Congress Should Act on FEMA’s Refusal to Reform

    It is one thing for government entities to dismiss the criticisms from outside groups. It is quite altogether something else to dismiss the criticisms of government-empowered investigators who have access to the closely held data. Based on its reaction to an audit by the U.S. Department…

  • Issue Brief posted May 17, 2012 by J.D. Foster, Ph.D. Preventing Taxmageddon Is Congress’s Summer Job

    Conventional wisdom says that Congress and the President will get nothing done in 2012 until after the elections. Conventional wisdom appears to be at least mostly correct, but in one respect Congress should not fall prey to conventional wisdom: preventing Taxmageddon. Too much is at stake…

  • Issue Brief posted May 8, 2012 by James Gattuso Bureaucrats on Board: Mandating Electronic Recorders for Truckers

    America’s truckers are known for their independence, often driving alone in their rigs from one end of the country to the other. Now Congress wants to give them company in the form of an electronic “big brother.” Under a provision buried in the 600-page transportation bill…

  • Issue Brief posted May 7, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Why Budget “Reconciliation” Matters

    The spending reduction plan in the U.S. House of Representatives takes an important step toward fixing two huge budget and policy dilemmas facing Congress: the crude, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by last year’s debt ceiling agreement, and the unsustainable growth of entitlement spending, which threatens to overwhelm the budget and…

  • Issue Brief posted April 19, 2012 by James Gattuso Too Small to Fail? The Case for Post Office Closures

    Revised April 24, 2012. The post office in Hope, Minnesota, is no doubt a quiet place. During a typical business day it sees eight customers, who require a total of seven minutes of service. The Postal Service…

  • Center for Policy Innovation Lecture posted April 2, 2012 by Robert Moffit, Ph.D. Why Congress Must Confront the Administrative State

    Abstract: The triumph of the administrative state has been made possible by the emasculation of the legislative power. Washington’s problem is not merely federal spending and debt; it is the arrogance of centralized power. The time is therefore ripe for a major national discussion…

  • Backgrounder posted March 29, 2012 by David Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Christina Villegas Violence Against Women Act: Reauthorization Fundamentally Flawed

    Abstract: Despite the fact that each state has statutes that punish domestic violence, the federal government intervened in 1994 with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate is now expected to consider the newest reauthorization of the act—S. 1925—which includes radical changes that…

  • Issue Brief posted March 28, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen RSC Budget Has Ambitious Targets, Needs More Policy Detail

    The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has once again pushed the outside of the fiscal envelope, presenting a budget that reaches balance in just five years—twice as fast as the group’s proposal a year ago—through entitlement reforms, deep spending reductions, and no tax increases. This aggressive plan incorporates many elements of…

  • Backgrounder posted March 22, 2012 by Robert Alt, Edmund Haislmaier The Obamacare Challenge: The Questions Before the Supreme Court and Their Portents for Congress

    Abstract: Next week, the Supreme Court will hear challenges to Obamacare (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) centered on the constitutionality of the legislation’s individual mandate and Medicaid expansion. From a legal perspective, the Court’s decision will…

  • Play Movie Brian Darling on Jobs Legislation on WMTW Video Recorded on March 19, 2012 Brian Darling on Jobs Legislation on WMTW

    Brian Darling comments on job growth legislation passed by Congress on Portland's WMTW. …

View All
Find more work on Federal Legislative Branch
  • Backgrounder posted March 22, 2012 by Robert Alt, Edmund Haislmaier The Obamacare Challenge: The Questions Before the Supreme Court and Their Portents for Congress

    Abstract: Next week, the Supreme Court will hear challenges to Obamacare (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) centered on the constitutionality of the legislation’s individual mandate and Medicaid expansion. From a legal perspective, the Court’s decision will…

  • Issue Brief posted May 18, 2012 by Matt Mayer Congress Should Act on FEMA’s Refusal to Reform

    It is one thing for government entities to dismiss the criticisms from outside groups. It is quite altogether something else to dismiss the criticisms of government-empowered investigators who have access to the closely held data. Based on its reaction to an audit by the U.S. Department…

  • Issue Brief posted May 17, 2012 by J.D. Foster, Ph.D. Preventing Taxmageddon Is Congress’s Summer Job

    Conventional wisdom says that Congress and the President will get nothing done in 2012 until after the elections. Conventional wisdom appears to be at least mostly correct, but in one respect Congress should not fall prey to conventional wisdom: preventing Taxmageddon. Too much is at stake…

  • Issue Brief posted May 8, 2012 by James Gattuso Bureaucrats on Board: Mandating Electronic Recorders for Truckers

    America’s truckers are known for their independence, often driving alone in their rigs from one end of the country to the other. Now Congress wants to give them company in the form of an electronic “big brother.” Under a provision buried in the 600-page transportation bill…

  • Backgrounder posted July 14, 2011 by Ernest Istook Considering a Balanced Budget Amendment: Lessons from History

    Abstract: Attempts at passing a balanced budget amendment (BBA) date back to the 1930s, and all have been unsuccessful. Both parties carry some of the blame: The GOP too often has been neglectful of the issue, and the Democratic Left, recognizing a threat to…

  • Backgrounder posted March 29, 2012 by David Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Christina Villegas Violence Against Women Act: Reauthorization Fundamentally Flawed

    Abstract: Despite the fact that each state has statutes that punish domestic violence, the federal government intervened in 1994 with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate is now expected to consider the newest reauthorization of the act—S. 1925—which includes radical changes that…

  • Center for Policy Innovation Discussion Paper posted February 17, 2011 by Robert Moffit, Ph.D. How to Roll Back the Administrative State

    Abstract: Congress needs to take action to constrain the burgeoning regulations and closed-door, secretive rulemaking of the growing administrative state. To do that, Congress needs to restore formal rulemaking, with oral hearings presided over…

  • Issue Brief posted May 7, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Why Budget “Reconciliation” Matters

    The spending reduction plan in the U.S. House of Representatives takes an important step toward fixing two huge budget and policy dilemmas facing Congress: the crude, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by last year’s debt ceiling agreement, and the unsustainable growth of entitlement spending, which threatens to overwhelm the budget and…

  • WebMemo posted January 17, 2012 by Paul Rosenzweig Online Piracy and Internet Security: Congress Asks the Right Question but Offers the Wrong Answers

    The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) are well-intentioned House and Senate proposals aimed at stopping the theft of intellectual property through foreign-based websites. Intellectual property is a critical and important form of property. The Framers understood that well enough to authorize the establishment of…

  • Issue Brief posted April 19, 2012 by James Gattuso Too Small to Fail? The Case for Post Office Closures

    Revised April 24, 2012. The post office in Hope, Minnesota, is no doubt a quiet place. During a typical business day it sees eight customers, who require a total of seven minutes of service. The Postal Service…

Find more work on Federal Legislative Branch
  • Issue Brief posted May 18, 2012 by Matt Mayer Congress Should Act on FEMA’s Refusal to Reform

    It is one thing for government entities to dismiss the criticisms from outside groups. It is quite altogether something else to dismiss the criticisms of government-empowered investigators who have access to the closely held data. Based on its reaction to an audit by the U.S. Department…

  • Issue Brief posted May 17, 2012 by J.D. Foster, Ph.D. Preventing Taxmageddon Is Congress’s Summer Job

    Conventional wisdom says that Congress and the President will get nothing done in 2012 until after the elections. Conventional wisdom appears to be at least mostly correct, but in one respect Congress should not fall prey to conventional wisdom: preventing Taxmageddon. Too much is at stake…

  • Issue Brief posted May 8, 2012 by James Gattuso Bureaucrats on Board: Mandating Electronic Recorders for Truckers

    America’s truckers are known for their independence, often driving alone in their rigs from one end of the country to the other. Now Congress wants to give them company in the form of an electronic “big brother.” Under a provision buried in the 600-page transportation bill…

  • Issue Brief posted May 7, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Why Budget “Reconciliation” Matters

    The spending reduction plan in the U.S. House of Representatives takes an important step toward fixing two huge budget and policy dilemmas facing Congress: the crude, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by last year’s debt ceiling agreement, and the unsustainable growth of entitlement spending, which threatens to overwhelm the budget and…

  • Issue Brief posted April 19, 2012 by James Gattuso Too Small to Fail? The Case for Post Office Closures

    Revised April 24, 2012. The post office in Hope, Minnesota, is no doubt a quiet place. During a typical business day it sees eight customers, who require a total of seven minutes of service. The Postal Service…

  • Center for Policy Innovation Lecture posted April 2, 2012 by Robert Moffit, Ph.D. Why Congress Must Confront the Administrative State

    Abstract: The triumph of the administrative state has been made possible by the emasculation of the legislative power. Washington’s problem is not merely federal spending and debt; it is the arrogance of centralized power. The time is therefore ripe for a major national discussion…

  • Backgrounder posted March 29, 2012 by David Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Christina Villegas Violence Against Women Act: Reauthorization Fundamentally Flawed

    Abstract: Despite the fact that each state has statutes that punish domestic violence, the federal government intervened in 1994 with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate is now expected to consider the newest reauthorization of the act—S. 1925—which includes radical changes that…

  • Issue Brief posted March 28, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen RSC Budget Has Ambitious Targets, Needs More Policy Detail

    The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has once again pushed the outside of the fiscal envelope, presenting a budget that reaches balance in just five years—twice as fast as the group’s proposal a year ago—through entitlement reforms, deep spending reductions, and no tax increases. This aggressive plan incorporates many elements of…

  • Backgrounder posted March 22, 2012 by Robert Alt, Edmund Haislmaier The Obamacare Challenge: The Questions Before the Supreme Court and Their Portents for Congress

    Abstract: Next week, the Supreme Court will hear challenges to Obamacare (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) centered on the constitutionality of the legislation’s individual mandate and Medicaid expansion. From a legal perspective, the Court’s decision will…

  • Issue Brief posted March 8, 2012 by Paul Larkin The STOCK Act and Fraud: Competing Visions, Common Goal to Address Government Corruption

    Last month, the House and Senate passed, by overwhelming majorities, different versions of a bill entitled the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act).[1] The bills would acknowledge that the insider trading laws apply to federal officials. The Senate version would also reach other perceived public corruption…

View All
Find more work on Federal Legislative Branch
Experts on Federal Legislative Branch
Our Work
View All
View All
View All
ABOUT The HERITAGE FOUNDATION

The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research institute, with nearly 700,000 individual, foundation and corporate donors. Heritage, founded in February 1973, a staff of 275 and an annual expense budget of $82.4 million.

Our mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Read More

Our Initiatives
especially for
 
receive updates & newsletters

Receive updates from Heritage about current events and initiatives in your email inbox

http://www.heritage.org/organizations/united-states-government/federal-legislative-branch?fb=true#foot_anchor

© 2012, The Heritage Foundation
Conservative policy research since 1973