In 1974, Congress invented the reconciliation process to reduce deficits. More recently, reconciliation has been used in ways that increase the deficit. Batten’s Ray Scheppach spoke with The Conversation to explain the process.

The Biden administration is heading back to square one as the chances for a Neera Tanden confirmation, the president's initial pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget, seems increasingly unlikely to gain enough Senate votes. Batten’s David Leblang spoke to Newsweek about potential candidates under consideration to take Tanden's place.

America cannot go to war unless Congress authorizes it, but Congress has rarely taken a vote to start and end a war. On Julie Rose's "Top of Mind," Batten professor Gerry Warburg explores why Congress leaves it to presidents to expand America's global conflicts. 

Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones spoke at the Batten School in October 2015.

As President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees have been named, much of the discussion has been about their ideological leanings. In an article for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and Vanderbilt University's Alan E. Wiseman, co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, outline why these ideological discussions are too narrow a focus.

In commentary compiled by the Miller Center, Batten Professors Jennifer Lawless, Margaret Foster Riley, Todd Sechser, and Craig Volden weigh in on the 2020 election, offering updates on the latest developments.

Batten's Jennifer Lawless, along with William Antholis, and Kyle Kondik, discuss how mail-in and absentee votes are counted, why results could be delayed this year, and how the pandemic has affected the election.

Historic harms—discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, affect public perception of governmental institutions and their public administrators. Batten's Brian N. Williams speaks to how we could change American institutions and their public servants in the face of these harms.

Batten’s Craig Volden and Vanderbilt’s Alan Wiseman, co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, find that members of Congress are becoming less specialized and in turn, less effective. How do we encourage more expertise and reverse the trend?

Six Batten students completed public service-focused internships supported by the Frederic S. Bocock Fellowship this summer. Through the generosity of Fred and Mary Buford Hitz, the Bocock Fellowship was created to advance the careers of Batten students in public service, specifically through governmental internship opportunities.