On Friday, the US House voted 219 to 210 for a contentious National Defense Authorization Act, which House Republicans had used as a vehicle for culture war fights. House Democratic Leadership encouraged members to vote NO, highlighting the following major flaws of the bill as it was brought to the…

Last week, the US House passed the disingenuously named Middle Class Borrower Protection Act. The problem with the name, of course, is that the bill would do nothing to protect middle-class borrowers. In fact, it harms them. Earlier this year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency released a more equitable pricing…

Republicans have landed on their new culture war issue to fight environmental legislation: gas stoves. Never mind that few of their constituents even still have gas stoves, of course. It’s the new cause celebre to complain about “big government” run amuk. …

Yesterday, the House decided to double down on the drug war by passing the “HALT Fentanyl” Act, which would permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances (FRS) on schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and impose mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl-related offenses. A letter signed by more than 150 groups, such as…

This week is National Police Week. Last week, apparently, also was: it seems fitting that police would give themselves an even longer recognition week than others, even though they reliably get what they want out of elected officials at all levels. The Republican House celebrated by passing two bills that…

On March 20, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report underscoring how critical the current decade is to ensuring a livable planet. Ten days later, the US House of Representatives showed how little they care. That was the day they passed a new giveaway to Big Oil and…

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. There will be many incisive retrospectives of this disastrous decision and its legacy in lives lost, trillions wasted, insecurity fomented, and lessons not yet learned. What I want to offer is a quick reminder of who voted for…

You may not realize it, but the September 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) for US operations in Afghanistan is still in place. Yes, even though the US has withdrew military personnel from Afghanistan almost two years ago. What is this AUMF even authorizing? For one, the US…

The District of Columbia deserves voting representation in Congress. That is obvious all the time (“no taxation without representation,” of course), but it becomes especially salient when Congress tries to intervene to block DC from passing its own laws — something Congress can do given DC’s lack of full autonomy. …