Congressional & Capitol Hill News

As former national security officials, we write to express our deep concerns about the current debate over suggested amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.  Contrary to popular narratives making the rounds on the extremes of both sides of the political aisle, the fact is that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is a critical…

We have been reminded in this time of pandemic that necessity is the mother of invention. People have modified many regular activities. They’ve gone to telework and contactless delivery and even virtual church services. And now the House of Representatives has adopted a resolution that, for the first time, no longer would require members to…

Democrats passed proxy voting in their fourth coronavirus recovery bill on Friday. “Instead of 435 [people] representing districts across the nation … 20 people control all of Congress,” says House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, referring to the effect of Democrats’ proxy voting push. “Each member can call up to 10 proxies,” McCarthy tells The Daily…

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a member of President Donald Trump’s congressional task force on economic recovery, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss the economy’s devastation by the coronavirus and how America should get back to work. The House Freedom Caucus chairman talks about how the nation should balance the contagiousness of COVID-19 with the…

Illinois State Senate President Don Harmon sent a letter April 14 on behalf of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus to members of Congress requesting $40 billion in federal funds for the beleaguered state. Although the letter comes under the guise of unprecedented COVID-19 disruptions, the purposes for which Illinois and other states seek additional federal…

President Donald Trump expressed frustration Wednesday that the Senate has not confirmed his pending nominees to various posts. “The current practice of leaving town while conducting phony pro forma sessions is a dereliction of duty that the American people cannot afford during this crisis,” Trump told reporters. The president warned that if the House does…

Four senators came under fire last week for making financially advantageous stock trades after receiving information about the then-approaching coronavirus pandemic.  The optics of that are terrible. While the country faced an unprecedented situation, those senators executed trades for their own gain while simultaneously seeking to quiet public fears.  Reactions from across the political spectrum…

Stocks have plunged in recent weeks. The S&P 500 is down about 27% from its high on Feb. 19 but still hasn’t dropped to the levels of late May 2019. This means anyone with a retirement account or other investments likely has taken a significant hit. Assuming they don’t need that money in the short…

Buyers (aka taxpayers), beware: The Land and Water Conservation Fund is not what you might think. Some on Capitol Hill have floated the idea of fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanently. In Washington budget-speak, that means creating a new autopilot mandatory program.  Congress created the conservation fund in 1964 to “assist in…