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• Congress Takes Health Care Reform Home

  Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:40:09 GMT

  Back in their states and districts for the summer recess, Members of Congress are hearing from their constituents on health care reform legislation. Sarah Binder says trying to pass a health care reform bill is a gamble for legislators, who fear they could lose votes in the 2010 election if the bill is perceived as too costly.

• Advice and Consent During the Bush Years: The Politics of Confirming Federal Judges

  Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

  The judicial appointment process – for both the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts – has been increasingly characterized by senatorial foot-dragging, declining confirmation rates, and protestations by both political parties. Sarah Binder and Forrest Maltzman explore the politics of judicial selection, focusing on partisan, institutional, and temporal forces that shape the fate of presidential appointments to the federal trial and appellate courts. Analyzing historical patterns from over the past 60 years, they find that the polarization of advice and consent worsened over the Bush years, but was broadly consistent with the deterioration of judicial selection over the past several decades.

• The End of Bipartisanship for Obama's Big Initiatives?

  Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

  The Obama administration is considering seeking passage of its health reform and climate change initiatives with a legislative strategy that would require only 51 senators to vote yes, rather than the usual 60 of 100. Sarah Binder joined a featured discussion in the Washington Post to discuss her views on amending the majority rule in the Senate.

• Assessing the 110th Congress, Anticipating the 111th

  Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

  
  Sarah Binder, Thomas Mann, Norman Ornstein and Molly Reynolds look ahead to the 111th Congress and what it will take to overcome the shortcomings of the 110th. Although the previous Congress was able to achieve some policy successes, increase oversight of the executive and strengthen ethics standards and procedures, it was limited in its ability to overcome fully the realities of divided government, the ideological polarization of the parties and the institutional dynamics that have shaped Congress in recent years.

• Repairing a Frayed TARP

  Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

  
  Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel suggest that Congress should amend the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program in several ways, including a rewrite of the conditions put on institutions that take TARP dollars. It is not too late to fix the mistakes made in the rush to enactment, they write.

• The Financial Rescue Package Update

  Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

  The financial rescue package has been signed into law, but what happens now? Sarah Binder has been watching this story develop, and discusses her thoughts on The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Jane Norris.

• The Financial Bailout Bill Heads Back to the House

  Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

  
  Despite the urging of President George W. Bush and congressional leaders, the all-out push for a $700 billion bailout for the nation’s beleaguered banks ended in failure on September 29. Even though party leaders called on their members to cast votes for the nation’s financial welfare, legislators responded by casting votes for their own electoral safety, writes Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel in an opinion that examines why the bill failed.

• Financial Disaster: What Role for Congress?

  Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

  
  Given the slew of questions that have been raised about the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street firms, Congress is right to reject open-ended grants of power at untold cost, writes Sarah Binder. But, if Congress fails to grant new powers to the Treasury, it risks deepening—and being blamed for—the greatest financial crisis since the Depression. Binder offers basic ground rules on how Congress should proceed.

• One Year Later: Is Congress Still the Broken Branch?

  Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

  Thomas Mann and Sarah Binder conclude that in the 110th Congress, members are working harder, ethics regulations are tougher and a modest legislative harvest is being reaped. But, they warn, the venomous partisan atmosphere remains.

• Tangling Over Recess Appointments: What’s at Stake?

  Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

  In lieu of a two-week Thanksgiving recess, the Senate is holding four sessions but conducting no business. Sarah Binder explains the impasse that led to the Democrats' unorthodox strategy. The immediate clash is over contentious presidential appointees; the larger conflict reflects the deep disputes over policy and process between a Democratic Congress and a Republican White House.

• Gridlock on Capitol Hill

  Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

  According to recent public opinion polls, approval rating for Congress remains particularly low. With ideologically divided parties sharing power and eyeing the upcoming presidential election, writes Sarah Binder, we should not be surprised to see stalemate on Capitol Hill.

• Is the Broken Branch on the Mend? An Early Report on the 110th Congress

  Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

  The failure of Congress to fulfill its responsibilities as the first branch of government—to engage in responsible and deliberative lawmaking, to police the ethical behavior of its members, and to check and balance the executive—contributed to the demise of the Republican majority in last November's midterm election.

• Can Congress Legislate for the Future?

  Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

  Observing the summer rush to pass bills deemed important for legislators facing tough re-election battles, a Capitol Hill reporter summed up the season as "Legislating for November." Given legislators' incentives to take credit and to avoid blame, the question naturally arises: Can Congress legislate for the longer-term?

• Political Gridlock? What Will Washington Do Now?

  Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

  Online Discussion with Sarah Binder; The Philadelphia Inquirer (11/10/06)

• Impact of the DeLay Indictment on Congress and the GOP

  Fri, 30 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

  Live Internet Chat with Sarah Binder; Washingtonpost.com (9/30/05)

• Learning From Filibusters Past

  Wed, 18 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

  Interview with Sarah Binder; NPR All Things Considered (5/18/05)

• The Filibuster Debate

  Mon, 16 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

  Interview with Sarah Binder; NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (5/16/05)

• A Gallery of Might-Have-Beens: There's More Than One Way to Fail the Senate Confirmation Test

  Sun, 24 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder; The Washington Post (4/24/05)

• The History and Use of Filibusters in the U.S. Senate

  Tue, 05 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT

  Interview with Sarah Binder; C-SPAN (4/5/05)

• This Battle Isn't New: The Filibustering of Judicial Nominations

  Sun, 06 Mar 2005 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder and Steven S. Smith; St. Louis Post-Dispatch (3/6/05)

• The 'Nuclear' Option for Ending Filibusters

  Tue, 04 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

  Interview with Sarah Binder; NPR Morning Edition (01/4/05)

• Presidential Candidates: Where Do They Stand?

  Mon, 26 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder, Thomas E. Mann, and Alan Murphy, The New York Times (7/26/04)

• The Difficulty of Reforming Senate ""Holds""

  Tue, 17 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT

  Testimony by Sarah Binder, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration (6/17/03)

• Filibusters a Great American Tradition

  Sun, 25 May 2003 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah A. Binder, The Brookings Institution (5/25/03)

• Stalemate : Causes and Consequences of Legislative Gridlock

  Tue, 25 Feb 2003 00:00:00 GMT

  
  Stalemate examines the causes and consequences of gridlock, exploring the ways in which elections and institutions together limit the capacity of Congress and the president to make public law.

• Post-Election Wrap-Up

  Wed, 06 Nov 2002 00:00:00 GMT

  Interview with Sarah Binder, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, the Brookings Institution, on NPR's Talk of the Nation, November 6, 2002

• Hillary's Workhorse Image Serves Her Well

  Tue, 29 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder, Fellow, Governmental Studies, The Brookings Institution, in Newsday

• The Business of Congress After September 11: A Look Back and at What's Ahead for 2002

  Tue, 01 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT

  Policy Dialogue with Bill Frenzel and Sarah Binder (January 2002)

• The Senate as a Black Hole: Lessons Learned from the Judicial Appointment Experience

  Thu, 01 Mar 2001 00:00:00 GMT

  Brookings Review article by Sarah Binder (Spring 2001)

• Going Nowhere: A Gridlocked Congress

  Fri, 01 Dec 2000 00:00:00 GMT

  Brookings Review article by Sarah Binder (Winter 2000)

• Bush and Lieberman: Two Pols in an Ideological Pod?

  Thu, 10 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder, Fellow, the Brookings Institution, and Thomas E. Mann, Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution, Published Exclusively for The Brookings Institution Website, August 10, 2000

• A Nomination for Change in the Senate: Process for Confirming Judicial Appointees in Desperate Need of Reform

  Mon, 19 Jun 2000 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder, Fellow, the Brookings Institution, in Roll Call, June 19, 2000

• Impeachment Lessons: Where Has Deliberation Gone?

  Sun, 13 Dec 1998 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder, Fellow, the Brookings Institution, and Steven S. Smith, University of Minnesota, in the Washington Post, December 13, 1998

• The 105th: It Could've Been a Contender

  Sun, 18 Oct 1998 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Thomas E. Mann, Director of Governmental Studies, the Brookings Institution, and Sarah Binder, Fellow, the Brookings Institution, in the Washington Post, October 18, 1998

• 'Fast Track' Benefits More Than Trade: It Keeps Congress Focused

  Mon, 03 Nov 1997 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder, Fellow, The Brookings Institution, in the Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1997

• Politics or Principle? : Filibustering in the United States Senate

  Mon, 02 Dec 1996 00:00:00 GMT

  
  The filibuster has achieved almost mythic proportions in the history of American politics, but it has escaped a careful, critical assessment for more than 50 years. In this book, Sarah Binder and Steven Smith provide such an assessment as they addres

• The Disappearing Political Center: Congress and the Incredible Shrinking Middle

  Sun, 01 Sep 1996 00:00:00 GMT

  Brookings Review article by Sarah Binder (Fall 1996)

• Institutional Reform Proposals for the 105th Congress

  Wed, 31 Jul 1996 00:00:00 GMT

  Testimony by Sarah Binder, Fellow, Governmental Studies, the Brookings Institution, before the Organization, Study and Review Committee of the House Democratic Caucus, July 31, 1996

• The Senate Strangles Itself

  Sat, 13 Jul 1996 00:00:00 GMT

  Opinion by Sarah Binder, Fellow, the Brookings Institution, in The New York Times, July 13, 1996