By Jenna Lewinstein (SC ’19) On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed a 2018 $1.3 trillion spending bill, avoiding a government shutdown. This enormous 2,232-page bill covers the budgets for a vast amount of policy issues, ranging from defense to border security to opioids. Though President Trump threatened to use his veto power, he ended up signing the bill into law. It turns out, Trump...
Conducted by April Xiaoyi Xu (PO ’18) Editor-in-Chief Transcribed by Jenna Lewinstein (SCR ’19) Digital Content Writer Thomas Miller is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) studying health care policy, litigation, and reform. He researches regulatory barriers to choice and competition, and investigates market-based alternatives to the Affordable Care Act. Previously, he worked as a...
By Jenna Lewinstein (SC ’19) With the 2018 midterm elections on the horizon, speculation have arose as to whether or not the Democrats will take back Congress. In the event of a Democratic majority in either chamber, climate change would top a list of legislative priorities, simply for its increasing relevance yet lack of prevalence in the 113th Congress. In Congress, environmental and...
By Jenna Lewinstein (SC ’19) President Donald Trump emphasizes that in his first months in office, he signed more bills than any other president. At this point in Trump’s presidency, he has fallen far behind on legislation passed. Regardless, the claim made concerning his first months is misleading, as the plurality of his bills from his first 6 months in office were passed thanks to the...
By Jenna Lewinstein (SC ’19) The year 2017 was the deadliest year of mass shootings in the nation’s history. 2018 has already seen 34 mass shooting incidents, within its first two months. The most notable shooting of 2018 thus far was a school shooting in Parkland Florida that left 17 dead. Despite years of tragic deaths at the hand of guns, Republicans in Congress brought forward a bill...
By Jenna Lewinstein (SC ’19) Lost among a myriad of stories revolving around the executive office and Congress, Pennsylvania is in the midst of a constitutional crisis that has major implications on all levels of government. Gerrymandering, the act of manipulating congressional district maps to a partisan advantage through means like “packing and cracking” voters of particular demographics...
By Jenna Lewinstein (SC ’19) Voting rights activists enjoyed a small victory on February 2, 2018, when Florida District Judge Mark Walker ruled that barring former felons from voting is unconstitutional. Unlike most states, Florida’s felons do not automatically get their voting rights back when released from prison. Instead, felons must wait five years before appearing in front of a...
