Let’s hear how senators think things should work BEFORE they know who will be in charge — A Rawlsian Moment in the Senate Philosopher John Rawls famously proposed a thought experiment for designing a just society. He suggested deciding which rules we would put in place if we had no idea the conditions into which we would be born. …

Getting Lost on Capitol Hill is a rite of passage — (This originally appeared on the depreciated POPVOX blog back on May 23, 2011. It was shared so much, we decided to dust it off and republish in honor of the incoming Freshmen. Welcome!) Navigating Capitol Hill is hard. Signs and room numbers don’t always make sense. Tunnels and long marble halls throw off the even the best senses of direction. The most popular POPVOX blog posts that people (read: Congressional staffers) seem to keep coming back to…

On October 7, former Rep. Katie Hill [D, CA] announced that The Handmaid’s Tale star, Elisabeth Moss, will play Hill in a movie based on her book, “She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the Battle for True Equality.” Soon after, the official Twitter account of the former congresswoman tweeted…

by: Marci Harris and Ananda Bhatia A version of this article first appeared in The Fulcrum Remote work is changing Congressional internships and that’s not all bad news. Remote internships are expanding opportunity and scaling the traditional gulf between DC and the district, though they can be tough for offices…

Addressing the information needs of a modern legislature — by: Marci Harris, Claire Abernathy, and Kevin M. Esterling (Excerpt from summary of 2019 draft report to the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress) Technology makes it possible for policymakers to access better data, better analysis and to hear from a broad swath of individuals, stakeholders and experts —…

by: Marci Harris, Claire Abernathy, and Kevin M. Esterling The chaos surrounding Congress’s switch to remote work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare weaknesses of Congress’s technical procedures and infrastructure, from its inability to hold hearings by video or to conduct remote voting, to the absence of policies…

Meet the Congressional Committees that are going first (and the staffers making it possible) — Congress is not an easy place for innovation. Success is rarely recognized. Going first is rarely rewarded. Failure is rarely forgiven. One person’s embarrassing moment is another’s campaign ad. That’s why I have joined several “friends of Congress” — Congressman Brian Baird, Beth Simone Noveck, Daniel Schuman, and lorelei kelly…

Retired General David Petraeus, former Members of Congress, UK MP Chi Onwurah, and others discuss how Congress can keep working during the COVID-19 pandemic — On April 16, former members of Congress participated in a “Mock Remote Hearing” exercise to test the viability of online proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic (following an earlier proceeding on March 23). The event was co-chaired by Former Rep. Brian Baird [D, WA] and Former Rep. Bob Inglis [R, SC]…

On March 24, 2020, a mock remote hearing and markup was held via Zoom “to assess the viability of remote hearings in emergency situations when committees cannot physically convene.” I co-organized this event with lorelei kelly of the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown and Daniel Schuman…