Threats on Congress, how Congress's Librarian is appointed, and other updates from First Branch Forecast

Our colleagues Daniel Schuman and Chris Nehls at First Branch Forecast, another newsletter you can subscribe to here on Substack, have some updates that we thought you’d be interested in. (Congress is the first branch of government mentioned in the Constitution, if you’re wondering about the name.)

Chris and Daniel recently interviewed the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, which protects the Capitol Building, senators and representatives and their offices, and other parts of Congress. “[W]ith 15,000 cases coming in 18 different places, we needed one central collection point. So that one central collection point is our Protective Intelligence Operation Centers,” Chief Michael Sullivan told them in an interview about threats made against legislators and changes at USCP since the January 6, 2021 attack on the capitol. (June 18) In another article, Chris and Daniel interviewed former Rep. Brian Baird on threats on Congress. (June 3)

When President Trump fired the Librarian of Congress last year, it sent Daniel thinking about how an employee of Congress could be fired by the head of the executive branch of the government. It was a quirk in the law that established the Library of Congress. A new bill would give Congress control over its own library. Daniel wrote, “The Library of Congress is a vast legislative branch agency that provides confidential advice and research support to members of Congress. This alleviates the threat that the Trump administration, or any future administration, could appoint a Librarian who would undermine Congress’s ability to to receive trusted confidential advice on policymaking and have access to information resources necessary for policymaking.” The same quirk exists for the Comptroller General of the United States of America, another employee of Congress that audits federal spending and advises legislators on how federal funds are spent. Congress should fix how that position is appointed too. (May 14)

They also have an article on recent institutional modernization efforts going on in Congress, including new digital tools to understand legislation for congressional staff and new signage in the Capitol buildings for the public. (June 15)

And if you want to read about Congress’s asbestos problem, the office buildings around the Capitol for the 541 legislators’ offices and support staff are decades behind on $1 billion in repairs. Congress never gives itself enough funding. (June 8)

If you’ve seen our Legislator Misconduct Database, 509 instances of alleged and actual misconduct by legislators in the United States Congress from 1789 to the present from bribery to sexual harassment, you know that ethics in Congress is an ongoing issue. But because Congress polices itself, enforcement of Congress’s ethics rules is often lacking. One congressional office tasked with investigating ethics violations is the House’s Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC). “The OCC [makes] independent recommendations to the Ethics committee to initiate an investigation based on its own preliminary findings concerning potential violations of House ethics rules. [But w]ithout the power to compel cooperation, House members accused of wrongdoing have learned they can stonewall the OCC,” Daniel wrote. OCC should be given “subpoena authority to compel records from [legislators], staff, and third parties.” (May 14)