Whats happening in congress; first half of the 30th term.

Day 935, 17:07 • Published in USA USA • by eUSA Congress

A reasonably productive few weeks in congress thus far; here are the highlights.

Quorum & activity
Since a recent policy change concerning how we determine quorum and the implementation of a required weekly sign-in, I'm pleased to see an improvement in attendance and progress in comparison to some recent terms.
The first week, we saw 49 members sign-in (quorum @ 25) and 45 members signed-in this week (quorum @ 23). For members whom signed in each week, please see this document.

Congressional Budget Office Director
Congress welcomes the return of Dr.Tango to the CBO this week. A vote held reappointing him to the position passed unanimously with 31 Yes votes, 0 No votes and 0 Abstentions.

Congressional funding powers
A Congressional Funding Freeze bill was passed 25 Yes, 1 No and 2 Abstentions. This piece of legislature clarifies concerns raised from a previous bill passed that permits the President to issue an executive order to immediately freeze funding and establishes a clearer procedure for Congress to lift funding freeze if they disagree with the Executive order. The primary objective is to keep financial responsibility in the hands of Congress while addressing the issue of expediency in an emergency situation. For more detailed information, visit the forum proposal thread.

Budget
A vote to amend May-July Budget was passed 33 Yes to 1 No, 0 Abstentions. Adjustments to the budget were made in response to recent negotiations with our friends in India concerning the Karnataka agreement. Budget cuts were spread relatively evenly across the board and made to incur as little impact to operations as possible.

Constitution & Code
Work continues on reviewing and amending the US Constitution & Code. The amendments being proposed are intended to reduce any redundancies, eliminate loopholes and outdated policy and create a more streamlined and concise document readied to guide us into the future. We hope to have a final draft completed for proposal in the coming days; check the progress of the debate here

V2
For those of you keeping an eye on the EI, you'll be happy to know several members of Congress are working closely with JCS and the Administration planning for our nation's future. As V2 looms on the horizon, it's time for us to more closely examine what our strengths are, how we can best apply them and what obstacles we'll need to overcome. If you are a younger citizen or have missed the news, you are strongly encouraged to check out back issues of EI for some sneak peeks of V2 and prepare. US will rise to meet the challenge.

A call to public service: Wiki Workers Wanted
Those of you without a wiki user account, apply for one here: Request a Wiki User Account

As you all know, eRepublik allows us to re/write our own history.
If you don't have a wiki account, who is writing your history?
Not sure where to start? Fact-checking and proofreading will help you get more familiar with eRep wiki and you'll likely learn something new, too.

rainy sunday