Necessary & Proper Podcast

This episode features audio from a Constitution Day Debate held by our Augusta Lawyers Chapter on the Commerce Clause. Professors John Baker and Thomas Crocker discuss this subject and are moderated by Hon. J. Randal Hall. What are and should be the limits of congressional power under the Constitution? We hope you enjoy the exchange.

Elise Bean of the Levin Center discusses her recent book, Financial Exposure: Carl Levin's Senate Investigations Into Finance and Tax Abuse, sharing how Congressional oversight investigations can be a powerful tool for uncovering facts, building bipartisan consensus, and fostering change. The conversation also highlights several interesting cases from her time as chief counsel of the Permanent Sub...

On September 24, the Federalist Society Student Chapter at Northern Kentucky Law School hosted Congressman Thomas Massie for an address involving several Article I topics, including the committee process, the two-party system, the Department of Education, and the Liberty Caucus. We hope you enjoy his remarks!

Recorded August 22, this podcast brings together two speakers well-versed in regulation and regulatory reform. Professor Thom Lambert is the Wall Chair in Corporate Law and Governance at the University of Missouri School of Law and the author of How to Regulate: A Guide for Policymakers. Ken Davis is a senior attorney and former Deputy Attorney General for Virginia. Mr. Davis wrote a review on Pro...

Recorded in June, this podcast offers a balanced representation of the competing interests between the Executive and Legislative Branches in Congressional Oversight. Morton Rosenberg, retired Congressional Research Service Senior Legal Analyst and author of When Congress Comes Calling: A Study on the Principles, Practices, and Pragmatics of Legislative Inquiry, explains the history of and authorit...

On June 11, 2018, the Article I Initiative and the Federalist Society's DC Young Lawyers Chapter cosponsored an event which featured Senator Chuck Grassley. Sen. Grassley (IA) spoke on developments in the federal judiciary and the importance of Congress reasserting its constitutional powers.

On June 6, 2018, the Article I Initiative and the Federalist Society Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group co-hosted a luncheon at the Mayflower Hotel, titled "Founding Principles as Pillars of Our Foreign Policy". Following an address by Congressman Gallagher, we welcomed the perspectives of Prof. Henry Nau, Prof. Jeremy A. Rabkin, and Mr. Ilya Shapiro. The panel covered a wide ran...

On June 6, 2018, the Article I Initiative and the Federalist Society Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group co-hosted a luncheon at the Mayflower Hotel, titled "Founding Principles as Pillars of Our Foreign Policy". Congressman Mike Gallagher opened with an address where he reflects on the views of the founders, discusses the current state of congress, and shares how Wisconsin has ha...

On March 29, 2018, the New York University Federalist Society Student Chapter hosted a panel titled "The Balance between the President and Congress: Congressional Government?" as a part of their "Beyond Trump: Threats to the Presidency" conference. This recording includes remarks from Professor Michael McConnell, Professor Gillian Metzger, Professor Trevor Morrison, and Adam White.

On April 16, 2018, the Georgetown Law Federalist Society presented its Lifetime Service Award to Sen. Rand Paul. The Senator gave a short presentation and answered questions.

Part five of our six part series highlighting panels and speeches from our March Conference features an address by Senator Mike Lee, covering a history of Congress' trade powers and a procedural solution to restore the balance of powers intended by the Founders.

The final episode of our six part series highlighting panels and speeches from our March Conference features reflections and recommendations on Congress as a whole by moderator and General Counsel & Parliamentarian for the House Committee on Ways and Means Machalagh Carr, Professor at the Cornell Law School Josh Chafetz, Professor at the New York Law School David Schoenbrod, and former Chief o...

Part four of our six part series highlighting panels and speeches from our March Conference features a discussion on Senate reform proposals by our moderator Daniel Flores, Hudson Institute Distinguished Fellow Christopher DeMuth, Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University Senior Fellow Matt Glassman, and R Street Institute Senior Fellow James Wallner.

Part three of our six part series highlighting panels and speeches from our March Conference features former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl who enagages in a moderated discussion with Susan Dudley on the gradual deterioration of the constitutional structure and consequences of this growing imbalance for issues such as international affairs, judicial nominations, and congressional leadership.

Part two of our six part series highlighting panels and speeches from our March Conference features Oklahoma Senator James Lankford and his remarks on the current Budget and Authorization process and his proposed rules changes to post cloture debate time for executive nominees.

This is the first episode in a six part series featuring live discussions from our Restoring Article I conference on March 22, 2018. This panel featured insights from former Congressman and current Club for Growth President David McIntosh, former Congressman Tom Davis, and Congressman Barry Loudermilk.

Christopher Scalia discusses the book he recently edited with Ed Whelan, Scalia Speaks, which is a collection of Justice Antonin Scalia's speeches. A speech the Justice delivered to Congress in 2011 is the focus of the conversation.

This is the final episode in our series highlighting the best live panels the Initiative hosted in Washington D.C. in 2017. The recording is of our December 15 panel featuring discussion with Michael Bopp, Machalagh Carr, Hon. Neil Eggleston, and our Moderator, Amanda Neely.

This is the second episode of from our three part series highlighting the best live panels the Initiative hosted in Washington D.C. in 2017. This recording is from November 22 and features a panel discussion with former Congressman Chris Shays and Weekly Standard Senior Writer Jay Cost.

This is the first in a three part series highlighting the best live panels the Initiative hosted in Washington D.C. in 2017. This recording is from September 22 and features a panel discussion with David Hoppe and Prof. Frances Lee on the Congressional budget process.

The Article I Initiative partnered with the Administrative Law & Regulation Practice Group and the Regulatory Transparency Project for a discussion with David Schoenbrod, New York Law School Professor and author of DC Confidential: Inside the Five Tricks of Washington. Hon. Susan Dudley, Director of the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, moderated the conversation, engaging Pr...

Chris Connelly, hill veteran and current Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, (MO-4), joined us to offer his thoughts on the role of a Chief of Staff in the U.S. House of Representatives, how Congress has changed in the last 20 years, and suggested reforms.

Adam J. White, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Director of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, offered his analysis of the administrative state and discussed possible legislative solutions.

Christopher DeMuth, Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute, discusses the current state of the 115th Congress and outlines many of its historical challenges. He also analyzes what he calls Congress' "dilemma of fiscal restraint."

Former Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyst Kevin Kosar offers his inside perspective on how Congress has changed over the last couple decades and how CRS and the Congress could be more effective.