The subject of this episode is, “What is a conference committee and why are they so rare today?” My guest is Josh Ryan. He is an associate professor of political science at Utah State University. Josh studies Congress, the president, state legislatures and executives, as well as electoral institutions. Importantly for the purpose of this episode of Understanding Congress, Josh is the author of the book The Congressional Endgame: Interchamber Bargaining and Compromise (University of Chicago...

The topic of this episode is, “What is the relationship between lobbyists and Congress?” My guest is Timothy LaPira. He is a professor of political science at James Madison University and a faculty affiliate at the Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia. Tim, I should add, is the lead editor of our volume Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline of Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform (University of Chicago Press, 2020). But even more relevant to the subject of this...

The topic of this episode is, “What does the Congressional Budget Office do?” My guest is Professor Philip Joyce. He is the senior associate dean at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where he also is a professor of public policy. There, Philip Joyce teaches and researches public budgeting, performance measurement, and intergovernmental relations. He's the author of many publications — far too many to recite, but I will mention one that is germane to today's podcast. Phil is...

The topic of this episode is, “Should we expand the membership of the House of Representatives?” My guest is Yuval Levin, who is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Levin is the founder and editor of the journal National Affairs, a senior editor at The New Atlantis, a contributing editor at National Review, and a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times. And, particularly germane to the subject of today's discussion,...

The topic of this episode is, “What is wrong and right with the House of Representatives?” My guest is Dan Lipinski, who is uniquely positioned to answer this question. He was a member of Congress, and represented Illinois’ third district from 2005 to 2021. He also is a political scientist — he got his doctorate from Duke University in 1998. And if that is not enough, Dan is a former congressional staffer and a socially conservative Democrat. You don’t find many of those anymore. You can see...

The topic of this episode is, “What differences do women make in Congress?” My guest is Michele Swers, professor of American government at Georgetown University. She studies Congress, congressional elections, and women in politics. She has written a lot of research articles and book chapters, and also is the author of two books on women in Congress. The first one is titled The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress. The second book is titled Women in the Club: Gender...

The topic of this episode is, "What is the role of the Senate’s majority leader?" My guest is Dr. James Wallner. He is a senior fellow at the R Street Institute and a lecturer at Clemson University. He is the author of three books on the Senate, including one titled On Parliamentary War: Partisan Conflict and Procedural Change in the U.S. Senate (2017). James has worked in the Senate, and also is a cohost of the Politics in Question podcast.  Kevin Kosar: Welcome to Understanding Congress, a...

The topic of this episode is, "What is the Congressional Review Act?" My guest is Professor Bridget C. E. Dooling of George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center. She has a deep background in regulation. Previously, Bridget worked for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget. She also has clerked for an administrative law judge and worked in the U.S. Department of Justice. Kevin Kosar: Welcome to Understanding Congress, a podcast...

The topic of this episode is, “How has Congress evolved as an institution?” My guest is Eric Schickler, the author of the book, “Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress”. It is the 20th anniversary of this classic text, which won the Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize for the best book on legislative politics. Eric is the Jeffrey and Ashley McDermott Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also an Elected Fellow...

The topic of this episode is “How do legislators raise money to run for Congress?” My guest is Weston Wamp, who is the Founder at Millennial Debt Foundation and a Senior Political Strategist at Issue One. He hails from Tennessee, and ran for Congress in 2014. If his last name is familiar to you, that is because he is the son of former member of the House Zach Wamp, a Republican who represented Tennessee's 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 2011. Weston, like his father, knows a thing or...

The topic of this episode is, “How can a new staffer survive Congress?” My guest is Mark Strand, the coauthor of the book, “Surviving Inside Congress.” Mark is the President of the Congressional Institute, a not-for-profit organization that helps Members of Congress better serve their constituents and that helps constituents better understand Congress. Mark has led the institute since 2007, and prior to that spent nearly 20 years working as a staffer for members and committees in the House of...

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The subject of today’s episode is, “What does the House rules committee do?” My guest is https://bipartisanpolicy.org/person/donald-r-wolfensberger/ (Don Wolfensberger). He is a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and a https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/donald-wolfensberger (scholar) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. He served as a staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives for 28 years and was the director of the Rules Committee. Don is the author of two books:...

“How Congress tricks Americans” — that is the topic of this episode. My guest is https://www.nyls.edu/faculty/david-schoenbrod/ (Prof. David Schoenbrod) the author of the book, https://www.amazon.com/DC-Confidential-Inside-Tricks-Washington/dp/1594039119 (DC Confidential: Inside the Five Tricks of Washington). David is a Trustee Professor at New York Law School, where he teaches and studies environmental law, regulation, and other heady subjects. He also is a senior fellow at the...

“Is Congress Broken?” — that is the topic of this episode. My guest is https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/john-pitney-jr (Dr. Jack Pitney), the coeditor of the book, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9VMONC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8andbtkr=1 (Is Congress Broken? The Virtues and Defects of Partisanship and Gridlock). Jack is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Politics at Claremont McKenna College, where he teaches American politics and government. This book, which was coedited...

The topic of today's episode is, “How does the budget process work and not work?” My guest is https://www.concordcoalition.org/people/tori-gorman (Tori Gorman), the Policy Director for The Concord Coalition. It is a non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about federal budget issues, and their consequences for the future. Tori spent 16 years on Capitol Hill where she held director level positions, advising senior members of the budget, appropriations, and tax...

The topic of today's episode is “What is the filibuster?” And does it have a future? My guest is https://www.brookings.edu/experts/molly-e-reynolds/ (Dr. Molly Reynolds), who is a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. She studies Congress, with a focus on how congressional rules and procedures affect domestic policy outcomes. She also supervises the maintenance of the “https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/vital-statistics-on-congress/ (Vital Statistics on...

The topic of today's episode is, “How Does the House of Representatives Organize Itself for a New Congress?” My guest is https://politics.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/green-matthew/index.html (Dr. Matthew Green), an extraordinarily accomplished scholar of the U.S. Congress. He has been a professor of politics at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. since 2005, and he received his doctorate from Yale. Matt has authored or coauthored six books, the most recent of which...

The topic of today's episode is “Reforming Congress for the 21st Century.” My guest is Representative https://kilmer.house.gov/ (Derek Kilmer), Congressman of the 6th district of Washington State. He was first elected to Congress in 2012. Before that, Mr. Kilmer served in his home State's legislature, worked for the Economic Development Board for Tacoma Pierce County, and was a consultant for McKinsey and Company. He received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University and earned a...

The topic of today's episode is, "Do we need a Congress?" My guest is my friend and colleague, Dr. https://www.aei.org/profile/philip-wallach/ (Philip Wallach). He is a resident scholar here at AEI where he studies America's separation of powers system. And he focuses on regulatory power issues and the relationship between Congress and the administrative state. Before joining AEI, Phil was a senior fellow in governance studies at both the R Street Institute and the Brookings Institution. Phil...