{"id":1204,"date":"2022-09-02T19:01:58","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T19:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/?p=1204"},"modified":"2024-06-10T19:03:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T19:03:00","slug":"is-congress-suddenly-functional-or-what-do-the-democrats-legislative-victories-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/2022\/09\/02\/is-congress-suddenly-functional-or-what-do-the-democrats-legislative-victories-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Congress Suddenly Functional? Or, What Do the Democrats\u2019 Legislative Victories Mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"college
\nCenter for Policy Studies
\nPublic Affairs Discussion Group<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Is Congress Suddenly Functional? Or, What Do the Democrats\u2019 Legislative Victories Mean?<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\"headshot\"<\/p>\n

Joe White, Ph.D. – Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
Friday September 2, 2022
\n12:30-1:30 p.m.
\nMeeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
\nDampeer Room, Second Floor of Kelvin Smith Library
\nCase Western Reserve University<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Colleagues:<\/p>\n

After two years only on Zoom, the \u201cFriday Lunch\u201d returns for Fall Semester 2022 with discussions held \u201cin-person\u201d again.<\/p>\n

I remain a bit nervous about this and want it to be easy for people to protect themselves and still participate. So the meetings will also be on Zoom, and participants can register for each meeting in the same way they did for the past two years. The link is posted below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope and pray this all goes well. I regret that we cannot start the academic year with our traditional discussion of the Supreme Court, as one of our speakers had a conflict. So that session will be on the Friday immediately before the new Supreme Court Term begins, on September 30. I hope it\u2019s OK that I will lead off instead, which also means I will be the speaker-victim of anything that goes wrong with the technology! And I hope people will find my topic interesting.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, this Summer, there has been a burst of articles saying that, contrary to all the claims about systematic gridlock and President Biden\u2019s weakness, Congress has become surprisingly effective.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cA Functional Congress? Yes<\/span><\/a>\u201d wrote David Leonhardt of the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0on August 16. \u201cCongress is known for being disfunctional,\u201d he added. \u201cWhy hasn\u2019t it been over the past two years?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u201cCongress is Shooting for the Moon, and Getting Close<\/span><\/a>,\u201d\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0editorial writer Farah Stockman had opined on August 14. On June 14, Jonathan Chait explained in\u00a0New York<\/em>\u00a0magazine, \u201c<\/span>Biden Is Getting More Bipartisan Laws Than Anyone Expected<\/span><\/a>,\u201d and on July 28 the\u00a0Washington Post<\/em>\u00a0published Jonathan Bernstein\u2019s analysis that, \u201c<\/span>The Do-Something Congress Is on a Roll<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

These articles point out that not only have the Democrats\u2019 passed some legislation on a straight party-line basis, using the budget reconciliation process, but that a number of significant laws have passed with enough Republican support in the Senate to bypass a filibuster. Examples include the \u201cBipartisan Safer Communities Act\u201d (the first gun control legislation in a long time); the \u201cInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,\u201d the \u201cChips and Science Act,\u201d; and an overhaul of the United States Postal Service.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s going on? Is the legislative output actually so significant, compared to the average Congress? How should we assess what was passed on a purely partisan basis \u2013 as impressive unity among Democrats, or disappointing concessions to the party\u2019s more conservative members? Why are any Senate Republicans voting for legislation most Democrats support? What does this say about how Congress may perform in later terms? Last but not least, is this success, such as it is, likely to affect the election results?<\/span><\/p>\n

In-Person and Virtual Attendance<\/h3>\n

The discussion begins at 12:30 p.m., but the Dampeer Room should be open no later than Noon. We try to have beverages and refreshments set up soon after that. Participants should be able to sign on to Zoom also by Noon. But please remember not much will be happening online until the talk begins at 12:30.<\/p>\n

Zoom participants will probably have trouble hearing comments made by members of the audience in the room. As moderator I will repeat and summarize such comments or questions. Zoom participants are also encouraged to submit questions through Zoom\u2019s chat function. The chat will be monitored.<\/p>\n

Each week we will send out this newsletter with information about the topic. It will also include a link to register (for free) for the discussion.<\/strong>\u00a0When you register, you will automatically receive from the Zoom system the link to join the meeting. If you do not get the newsletter, you should also be able to get the information each Monday by checking<\/span>\u00a0http:\/\/fridaylunch.case.edu\/<\/span><\/a>. Then if you choose you can use the contact form on that website to request the registration link.<\/span><\/p>\n

This week’s Zoom link for registration is:<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/cwru.zoom.us\/meeting\/register\/tJIpduCrrzorE9Nw1PlZtZvq8pjpIRCaES7w<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.<\/p>\n

Please e-mail<\/span>\u00a0padg@case.edu<\/span><\/a>\u00a0if you have questions about how the Zoom version of the Friday Lunch will work or any other suggestions. Or call at 216 368-2426 and we’ll try to get back to you. We are very pleased to be partnering this semester with the<\/span>\u00a0Siegal Lifelong Learning Program<\/span><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to share information about the discussions.<\/p>\n

Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,<\/p>\n

Joe White
\nLuxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

About Our Guest<\/span><\/h3>\n

Joe White<\/strong>\u00a0joined the CWRU faculty in 2000, serving as Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Political Science. As director of the Center for Policy Studies, he also organizes the Public Affairs Discussion Group. He previously was Associate Professor in the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and before that Research Associate and then Senior Fellow in Governmental Studies at the Brookings Institution. He teaches a series of courses on public policy and U.S. politics, and his research involves both health care policy and federal budgeting. As a scholar of budgeting, Professor White in 2014 received the Aaron Wildavsky Award for lifetime achievement from the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management. He testified to the congressional Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 9: Race, Inequality, and the Cleveland Police Consent Decree.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Lewis R. Katz, J.D.<\/strong>, John C. Hutchins Professor of Law Emeritus.<\/p>\n

September 16: Russia’s War in Ukraine.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Andrew Barnes, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Associate Professor and Director of the Program in International Relations, School of Multidisciplinary Studies, Kent State University.<\/p>\n

September 23: Lake Erie in Bloom, and What to Do About It.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Huichun (Judy) Zhang, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Frank H. Neff Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.<\/p>\n

September 30: Supreme Court Review and Preview.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Jonathan H. Adler, J.D.<\/strong>, Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law, and\u00a0Jonathan L. Entin, J.D.<\/strong>, David L. Brennan Professor Emeritus of Law.<\/p>\n

October 7: Germany and Ukraine.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Andreas Sobisch, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, John Carroll University<\/p>\n

October 14: More Money for the IRS.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Timothy Fogarty, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Andrew D. Braden Professor Department of Accountancy.<\/p>\n

October 21: To Be Determined<\/strong><\/p>\n

October 28: To Be Determined<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 4: To Be Determined<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 11: To Be Determined<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 18: To Be Determined<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 25: Thanksgiving Break<\/strong><\/p>\n

December 2: To Be Determined<\/strong><\/p>\n

December 9: To Be Determined<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Visit the\u00a0Public Affairs Discussion Group Web Site.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Center for Policy Studies | Mather House 111 | 11201 Euclid Avenue |
\nCleveland, Ohio 44106-7109 |\u00a0Phone: 216.368.6730 |\u00a0padg@case.edu<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0|
\nPart of the:\u00a0College of Arts and Sciences<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2022 Case Western Reserve University |
\nCleveland, Ohio 44106 | 216.368.2000 |\u00a0legal notice<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Center for Policy Studies
\nPublic Affairs Discussion Group<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is Congress Suddenly Functional? Or, What Do the Democrats\u2019 Legislative Victories Mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe White, Ph.D. – Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday September 2, 2022
\n12:30-1:30 p.m.
\nMeeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
\nDampeer Room, Second Floor of Kelvin Smith Library
\nCase Western Reserve University<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Colleagues:<\/p>\n

After two years only on Zoom, the \u201cFriday Lunch\u201d returns for Fall Semester 2022 with discussions held \u201cin-person\u201d again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remain a bit nervous about this and want it to be easy for people to protect themselves and still participate.<\/p>\n

Continue reading… Is Congress Suddenly Functional? Or, What Do the Democrats\u2019 Legislative Victories Mean?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1205,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions\/1205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}