Congress Should Allow for Remote Voting, Hearings, and Deliberations During Pandemic

Taylor Swift of Demand Progress, Robert Alexander of Ohio Northern University, & I argue that Congress needs to change their rules to allow for work to be conducted remotely during the #COVID19 #coronavirus pandemic. To not do so risks Congress ceasing to function during a time the country needs it most.

It was a pleasure working with these guys on our CNN Opinion piece.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/opinions/congress-cannot-afford-to-shut-down-during-this-crisis/index.html

Pandemic Disease: A Past and Future Challenge to Governance in the United States

I totally forgot I co-authored this piece 12 years ago (2008) with Professor Alethia Cook of East Carolina University. Considering the United States and world is in the midst of a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (formerly known as 2019 novel coronavirus) and the accompanying COVID-19 disease, this article is highly relevant and demonstrates how unprepared the US was despite many examples of previous global health crises.

Abstract: Throughout history, pandemics have posed significant challenges to governments. Examination of the ways that governments have responded to pandemics can contribute to the U.S. government’s ability to react in the future. We utilize past cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and multiple forms of influenza to identify specific challenges governments have faced. Based on that knowledge, we discuss the major issues that the United States will have to address in the event of a future pandemic.

For the complete article, click here.

Time to Replace the Iowa Caucus & New Hampshire Primary with a "Great Lakes Primary"

Rob Alexander (Ohio Northern University) and I published the following opinion piece about eliminating the cherished place the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire primary have at the beginning of the presidential nominating season and replacing with a more representative "Great Lakes Primary." The time is long overdue.

"The time has come to end the prized status for Iowa and New Hampshire as the first contests to kick off the presidential race. These states have held this status for nearly 50 years and have left a trail of winnowed candidates in their wake. Both states are less diverse than the rest of the country, and Iowa's caucus process specifically is complicated, time consuming and unrepresentative of the American electorate."....

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/02/11/end-new-hampshire-primary-iowa-caucus-nomination-privilege-column/4713537002/

Size of White House Office of Chief of Staff by Year & Source (as of July 2, 2019)

Year	POTUS	U.S. Government Manual[1]	Archival Data[2]	Capital Source	Washington Post[3]	Report to Congress[4]
1953	Eisenhower		1
1954	Eisenhower		1
1955	Eisenhower		1
1956	Eisenhower		1
1957	Eisenhower		1
1958	Eisenhower		1
1959	Eisenhower		1
1960	Eisenhower		1
1961	Kennedy		0
1962	Kennedy		0
1963	Kennedy		0
1964	Johnson		0
1965	Johnson		0
1966	Johnson		0
1967	Johnson		0
1968	Johnson		0
1969	Nixon		6
1970	Nixon		6
1971	Nixon		5
1972	Nixon		4
1973	Nixon		5
1974	Nixon		4
1975	Ford		2
1976	Ford		5
1977	Carter		0
1978	Carter		0	7
1979	Carter		9	--
1980	Carter		11	20
1981	Reagan	5		10
1982	Reagan	7		--
1983	Reagan	7		9
1984	Reagan	7		--
1985	Reagan	2		15
1986	Reagan	1		50
1987	Reagan	3		6
1988	Reagan	3		8
1989	G.H.W. Bush	4		8
1990	G.H.W. Bush	4		7
1991	G.H.W. Bush	3		8
1992	G.H.W. Bush	3		7
1993	Clinton	3		10
1994	Clinton	3		39
1995	Clinton	5		36
1996	Clinton	5		22
1997	Clinton	4		20
1998	Clinton	5		30
1999	Clinton	4		21
2000	Clinton	5		20
2001	G.W. Bush	3		8
2002	G.W. Bush	4		8
2003	G.W. Bush	4		7
2004	G.W. Bush	3		7
2005	G.W. Bush			8	9
2006	G.W. Bush			12	10
2007	G.W. Bush			10	8
2008	G.W. Bush				6
2009	Obama					11
2010	Obama					11
2011	Obama					10
2012	Obama					13
2013	Obama					15
2014	Obama					10
2015	Obama					10
2016	Obama					11
2017	Trump					6
2018	Trump					3
2019	Trump					9
2020	Trump

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[1] Staffers are counted only when the Manual refers explicitly to the office of the chief of staff.

[2] Data for 1953 through 2004 are from Table 2, Karen M. Hult and MaryAnne Borrelli, “Organizational Interpretation or Objective Data? Examining the U.S. Presidency through the Government Manual,” paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 2005. Data for 1953-1968 are drawn from archival research for Charles E. Walcott and Karen M. Hult, Governing the White House: From Hoover through LBJ (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1995); those for 1969-1980 are from archival research for Karen M. Hult and Charles E. Walcott, Empowering the White House: Governance under Nixon, Ford, and Carter (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2004).

[3] Presidential administrations have been required to report staff/salary information to Congress that included the names, titles, and salaries of White House staffers since 1995. Reporters such as Dan Froomkin at the Washington Post would reprint the hard copy report for public consumption. E.g. see the 2008 report here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/graphics/2008stafflistsalary.html.

[4] The Obama administration is the first to release its annual reports to Congress electronically. E.g., the 2013 list can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/disclosures/annual-records/2013.