Understanding Congress

Should Congress Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution? (with Kurt Couchman)

The topic of this episode is, “Should Congress pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution?” The federal government experienced a shutdown in autumn 20025, which is one of many that have occurred in the past 20 years. The nation also has racked up about $38 trillion in debt, and Congress and the president have not taken real action to right America’s fiscal ship. So should Congress pass a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution? My guest Kurt Couchman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtcouchman/] says ‘Yes, it should.’ Kurt is the author of the new book, Fiscal Democracy in America: How a Balanced Budget Amendment Can Restore Sound Governance [https://amzn.to/3VU7siH] (Palgrave MacMillan, 2025). Kurt has been kicking around Capitol Hill for about 15 years. Presently he is a senior fellow at Americans for Prosperity, a group that promotes the principles and policies of economic freedom and liberty. Previously, Kurt worked for two members of Congress, and has had stints at the Cato Institute and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, among other gigs. He has spent a lot of time engaged with Congress on matters relating to federal spending and the budget, so I am delighted to have him here with us to discuss the idea of a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution. Click here [https://www.aei.org/podcast/should-congress-pass-a-balanced-budget-amendment-to-the-constitution-with-kurt-couchman/] for the full transcript to the episode.

What Are Budget Rescissions and Pocket Rescissions? (with Philip Wallach)

The topic of this episode is, what are budget rescissions and pocket rescissions? Rescissions have been in the news recently. This past July President Donald J. Trump sent the House and Senate a rescissions message [https://www.understandingcongress.org/2025/07/26/congress-passes-spending-cuts-but-the-small-savings-may-make-for-bigger-budgeting-troubles/]. This memorandum requested that Congress rescind, or take back, spending authority it had previously granted. Congress passed the legislation, which cut $9 billion from foreign aid, the U.S. Institute for Peace, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A rescission of funds has not occurred since 1999, when former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, struck a deal with the Republican-held House and Senate. Now the Trump administration is attempting a maneuver called a “pocket rescission.” What’s a pocket rescission?  To answer that question I have as my guest my colleague, Dr. Philip Wallach. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a colleague and a friend. At AEI he studies America’s separation of powers, with a focus on regulatory policy issues and the relationship between Congress and the administrative state. His latest book is Why Congress [https://amzn.to/4e31iU8] (Oxford University Press). Click here [https://www.aei.org/podcast/what-are-budget-rescissions-and-pocket-rescissions-with-philip-wallach/] for a full transcript of the episode.

Was James Madison the First Majority Leader? (with Jay Cost)

The topic of this episode is, “Was James Madison the first majority leader?” Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have a majority leader. At the time of the recording this podcast, Republican John Thune of South Dakota is the Senate majority leader, and Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana is the House majority leader. Now, congressional scholars tend to argue that the majority leader emerged as a position in each chamber in 1899. Democrat Arthur B Gorman of Maryland was the first Senate majority leader [https://www.senate.gov/senators/majority-minority-leaders.htm], and Republican Sereno Elisha Payne of New York was the first House majority leader [https://history.house.gov/People/Office/Majority-Leaders/]. My AEI colleague Jay Cost has a different view. He thinks the first majority leader appeared on Capitol Hill far earlier, and it was Virginia’s James Madison. So, we’re going to discuss that claim, which you can find in his recent piece, "Icons of Congress: James Madison — The First Majority Leader." [https://www.understandingcongress.org/2025/07/09/icons-of-congress-james-madison-the-first-majority-leader/] So, we’re going to discuss that claim. Dr. Jay Cost [https://www.aei.org/profile/jay-cost/] is the Gerald R. Ford nonresident senior fellow at AEI and the author of the superb book, James Madison: America’s First Politician [https://amzn.to/3S1U5JW] (2021), and other fine volumes on politics and history. Regular readers of UnderstandingCongress.org [http://understandingcongress.org/] no doubt have seen Jay’s various reports and essays, and if you have not seen them, do have a look [https://www.understandingcongress.org/?s=%22jay+cost%22]. Click here [https://www.aei.org/podcast/was-james-madison-the-first-majority-leader-with-jay-cost/] to read the full transcript.

Does Congress’s Power to Declare War Mean Anything? (With Gary Schmitt)

The topic of this episode is, “Does Congress's power to declare war mean anything?” In June of 2025, President Donald J. Trump directed US aircraft to drop 30,000 pound bombs on nuclear facilities in Iran. Some legislators in Congress and some media complained that this was a violation of the US Constitution. They note that Article I, Section 8 declares [https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C11-1/ALDE_00013587/], “Congress shall have the power to declare war.” That same article of the Constitution also empowers the legislature to “provide for the common defense.” So, was the President’s action constitutional or not? And does Congress’s power to declare war mean anything? To help us think through these questions I have with me my AEI colleague, Gary Schmitt [https://www.aei.org/profile/gary-j-schmitt/]. He is the author of many books and articles on American government and he has written [https://www.aei.org/articles/going-to-war-the-constitutional-and-strategic-roots-of-the-imperial-presidency/] extensively [https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/567344-getting-war-powers-right/?rnd=1628694017] on [https://thedispatch.com/article/cleaning-out-the-war-powers-closet/] legislative and presidential war-making. Click here [https://www.aei.org/podcast/does-congresss-power-to-declare-war-mean-anything-with-gary-schmitt/] to read the full transcript.

Why Are Legislators on Social Media? (with Annelise Russell)

The topic of this episode is, Why are legislators on social media?” We’ve all seen it, and if you haven’t, well, you will soon enough. Social media posts by members of Congress. They are on Facebook, X.com (what used to be called Twitter), Bluesky, and the like. The average voter may be forgiven for wondering, “Why are these lawmakers hanging out online? Don’t they have anything better to do?” To try to help us better understand what is going on here, I have Annelise Russell, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Russell has been studying legislators’ use of social media for years and is the author of Tweeting is Leading: How Senators Communicate and Represent in the Age of Twitter [https://amzn.to/43fWYhP] (Oxford, 2021). So who better to discuss this topic with us? Click here [https://www.aei.org/podcast/why-are-legislators-on-social-media-with-annelise-russell/] to read the full transcript.