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Archive: 2013 January
Senate Adopts Modest Filibuster Reforms
In its first votes of the 113th Congress, the Senate adopted several rule changes designed to make it easier to bring bills and nominations to the floor for a vote. The changes, which were broken into two separate resolutions, were based on a bipartisan agreement reached between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV-D) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY-R) in response to a growing chorus of calls for filibuster reform. It is hoped that the new rules, though modest, will help to some extent to break the legislative logjam that characterized the last Congress and to action on the…
President Obama Is Inaugurated to Second Term
On Monday, President Barack Obama stood before the west steps of the U.S. Capitol building and took the presidential oath of office as part of the 57th presidential inauguration ceremony. Technically, President Obama’s second term began Sunday, when he took the oath at the White House, as the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution mandates that the newly elected president assume office before noon on Jan. 20. With that date falling on a Sunday this year, however, the formal inauguration ceremony was moved to Monday. By taking the oath twice this week, President Obama has now recited the presidential oath…
President’s Gun Proposals To Face Mixed Response on Capitol Hill
At a White House announcement on January 16, President Obama unveiled the Administration’s proposals to curb gun violence in America: 23 Executive actions that the President signed off on immediately, and a number of measures that he will send to Congress next week. The proposals are based on the recommendations of Vice President Joe Biden’s task force on gun safety, formed after the December school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Major components of the President’s package include: A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Congressional action is required to change the law, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) is introducing…
Chief Justice’s Annual Report: Budget Cuts and Judicial Vacancies
On December 31, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts released his annual Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary —a State of the Union address, as it were, for the Judiciary Branch. In the 16-page document, the Chief Justice — in a writing style much more conversational than he uses in his Court opinions — discussed judicial efforts to keep a tight budget and the need for judicial vacancies to be filled promptly, and summarized of the workload of the various courts in the Federal system. He even spent several pages on the history of the Revolutionary War-era frigate the U.S.S….