JD Rackey
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jdrackey.bsky.social
JD Rackey
@jdrackey.bsky.social
390 followers 340 following 100 posts
Associate Director of Structural Democracy @ Bipartisan Policy Center | Fmr. @ModernizeCmte | Interested in all things Congress 🏛 | Opinions = My Own, RT ≠ Endorsements | he/him
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Reposted by JD Rackey
❔Do members of Congress get paid during a federal shutdown?
❔How does the 27th Amendment impact congressional pay?
❔What are the differences between the House and Senate?

Our JD Rackey breaks down these frequently asked questions and more in Marketplace ➡️ https://ow.ly/juTW50X75PP
How do members of Congress get paid?
They have direct deposit like a lot of U.S. workers, but some don’t get paid on a biweekly basis.
ow.ly
Happening today!!
Next We’d. is the Congresional Hackathon 7.0! This event is not only a critical venue for ongoing modernization efforts but it is also a lot of fun! If you care about improving congressional operations this is a must-attend event, I hope to see you there! bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/moderni...
Modernizing Congress, One Hackathon at a Time | Bipartisan Policy Center
Despite all that the parties disagree on, there is a clear bipartisan consensus that congressional operations need improvement
bipartisanpolicy.org
Next We’d. is the Congresional Hackathon 7.0! This event is not only a critical venue for ongoing modernization efforts but it is also a lot of fun! If you care about improving congressional operations this is a must-attend event, I hope to see you there! bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/moderni...
Modernizing Congress, One Hackathon at a Time | Bipartisan Policy Center
Despite all that the parties disagree on, there is a clear bipartisan consensus that congressional operations need improvement
bipartisanpolicy.org
Reposted by JD Rackey
Our own J.D. Rackey joined @wsj.com's Kim Strassel to discuss efforts to strengthen productivity and collaboration in Congress, including the work of the bipartisan Subcommittee on Modernization & Innovation.

🔊 Listen:
Reposted by JD Rackey
NEW: Turnover among chief local election officials continued to climb following the presidential election, reaching 41% in 2024—up from 39% in 2022.

🧵New analysis by @RachelOrey, @Jferrer505, and @danmthomp explores how turnover trends evolved through 2024.
Reposted by JD Rackey
Happy to share my first @brookings.edu FixGov piece was published today. I take stock of the Senate confirmation process at the 200-day mark of the Trump administration. Among the key findings is the unprecedented degree to which Trump’s nominees have faced procedural barriers.
Reposted by JD Rackey
Congratulations to the Senate for passing Legislative branch appropriations bill (along with veterans affairs and agriculture) w/o including the House's awful cuts in funding for the GAO + Library of Congress and for protecting GAO's impoundment authority. @heinrich.senate.gov @murray.senate.gov
Such a huge win for Congress!! LegiDex not only helps improve work efficiency for congressional staff but it also means Congress no longer needs to pay outside vendors for access to its own data in usable formats!

cha.house.gov/2025/7/subco...
Subcommittee on Modernization & Innovation Announces New House of Representatives Online Staff Directory
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration
cha.house.gov
To be consistent (though in the minority) I also would not consider Booker’s speech a filibuster.
But even if we were to follow Greg’s definition, does the magic minute count? Is “strategic gain” limited to the underlying bill/policy or external political gain? If the former, then no. If the latter, maybe.
This is why I tend to prefer definitions that differentiate between a filibuster (extended debate in the senate) and dilatory obstruction (objecting to UC, filing many amendments, magic minute, etc.). If we collapse all of it onto “filibuster” we lose leverage over the particular Senate phenomena.
Reposted by JD Rackey
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

Term limits are all bad. They have a dozen deleterious effects on government and zero good ones. They achieve none of the goals their proponents say they do. No one should ever advocate for term limits.
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

That there are norms that are supposed to shape how both civilians and military behave towards each other and that they are poorly understood by both.

Alternatively, don't always listen to the generals.
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

Restaurants run on razor thin margins. Successful ones might only clear 5% net profit each month.
I’m all for fiscal responsibility but let’s be real about this. Congress routinely cuts its own legs out from under itself for messaging purposes by needlessly tightening its belt.
When we talk about needing to increase funding for leg branch to boost its capacity this is the scale we are talking about. Many critical leg branch organizations have budgets smaller/not much beyond that of a parade.
FY24 allocates (not messing w/ FY25 CR math):
-$20.6m to pay House interns
-$38.7m for Sergent at Arms
-$14.6m for House Leg Counsel
-$136m for CRS
-$70m for CBO
A leg branch budget perspective on the proposed budget of the military parade, 🧵