Leader for a Nation: High Crimes and Misdemeanors
At times Congress has taken steps to curb misuse of power through its Constitutional power to impeach and remove a president from office. President Nixon may have been guilty of major offenses in relation to the Watergate break in and cover-up but h...
Power Imperative, The: Working With Congress
Government agencies depend on Congress for their very existence, but Congress can do little more than give the bureaucracy general instructions as it concentrates on its own legislative agenda. Members of Congress do expect agencies to respond to th...
Being Secretary of Labor
Former Secretary of Labor and university professor Robert Reich reflects on his service as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. "It was the best job I ever had, it's the best job I ever will have. It was harrowing, it was scary...But it...
Federal Workplace, The: Balancing Act, A
The federal bureaucracy is a product of law and regulation. Congress specifies the tasks the U. S. government will undertake and delegates those tasks to the president and his subordinates. When a president is elected by a substantial margin, public...
The Fourth Estate: License to Blame
Public officials and public bodies like Congress are criticized by the press. As Barbara Sinclair points out, "You want a skeptical media, but too often the media goes across the line and interprets everything that's done in Washington through the l...
The Fourth Estate: Controlling the Message
A free press is essential to a democratic society. It alerts citizens to events that will affect their lives and provides a channel through which political leaders can reach the public. Congress received as much press attention as the President in t...
The First Branch: How Does It Feel to Be a New Member of Congress?
Mickey Edwards, Jim McDermott, and Loretta Sanchez tell what it is like to walk into the House chambers for the first time as a newly elected members of Congress. Congress, like most national legislatures, has been dominated by men and moneyed inter...
Federal Workplace, The: Well-intentioned Red Tape Impedes Efficiency
When there is a problem in the federal workplace, Congress or the regulatory apparatus of the bureaucracy itself will add a new law or rule. The result is thousands of pages of regulations that grind work to a halt. Requirements related to due proce...
Government by Committee: Journey of a Bill
An average of 10,000 bills are introduced and referred to committee over the course of a two-year legislative term. Bills that do not easily fit within the scope of a single committee are referred to several committees or bypass this step altogether...