October 27, 2023 – This week, scholars from around the U.S. met with more than 40 members of Congress to present proposals from a SPIA/CSDP initiative to reclaim congressional powers ceded to the executive branch. 

Led by Mickey Edwards, a visiting professor at SPIA, the proposals were developed by more than three dozen task force members. These included former members of Congress from both political parties and professors from 19 universities in working groups on Congress’s war power, the ‘power of the purse’ (federal budget and spending), control over executive branch appointments, and congressional oversight. 

Edwards, himself a former member of Congress, was joined in the presentations by Princeton’s Nolan McCarty (co-chair of the ‘power of the purse’ working group), Oona Hathaway (Yale), Tara Grove (Texas), David Lewis (Vanderbilt), and Josh Chafetz (Georgetown). Additional presentations are being scheduled in both the House and Senate.

The Center for the Study of Democratic Politics is proud to be the administrative center for this important initiative.