REGISTER TO WATCH REMODELING CONGRESS (DAY 1)

REGISTER TO WATCH REMODELING CONGRESS (DAY 2)

Day 1 – October 15 (webinar only)

5:30–5:45pm – Welcome Remarks

5:45–7:00pm – Opening Conversation: Congress in History

When has Congress worked? When has it reformed itself? What would a responsible, representative, and effective Congress look like?

• Frances Lee, professor of politics and public affairs, Princeton University

• Dan Meyer, Miller Center Governing Council member; former chief of staff to Speakers Kevin McCarthy and Newt Gingrich; former assistant to the president for White House director of legislative affairs, George W. Bush administration

• Eric Schickler, Jeffrey & Ashley McDermott Professor of Political Science and codirector of the Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley

• Louisa Terrell, Miller Center senior fellow; former White House director of legislative affairs, Biden administration; former chief of staff to Senator Cory Booker

• Sidney M. Milkis, professor of politics, University of Virginia; White Burkett Miller Professor of Governance and Foreign Affairs, Miller Center (moderator)

Day 2 – October 16  (webinar only)

9:00–10:15am – Panel 1: Reforming Budget and Appropriations

The federal budget process is broken. What are the elements of its dysfunction? What are some ideas to reform it?

• Robert B. Blair, chief global policy officer, Applied Materials; Miller Center senior fellow; former House Appropriations staffer; former associate director, Office of Management and Budget, Trump 45 administration; former staff, House Appropriations Committee

• Eloise Pasachoff, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

• Molly Reynolds, vice president and director of governance studies, Brookings Institution

• Shalanda Young, Randolph P. Compton Professor of World Politics, Miller Center; former director, Office of Management and Budget, Biden administration; former staff director, House Appropriations Committee

• Rachel Augustine Potter, associate professor of politics, UVA; Miller Center senior fellow (moderator)

10:15–10:30am – Break 

10:30–11:45am – Panel 2: Reforming Oversight

Congressional oversight, especially on emergencies and use of force, appears to swing between no oversight during one-party government and inquisition or obstruction during divided government. How does this pattern compare with historical oversight trends?

• SoRelle Gaynor, assistant professor of public policy and politics, UVA Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy; Miller Center fellow

• Tom Graves, president and CEO, Ervine Graves Strategy Group; former U.S. representative from Georgia; served on the House Appropriations Committee and as former vice chair, House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress

• Kevin R. Kosar, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute

• J. D. Rackey, associate director, Structural Democracy Project, Bipartisan Policy Center

• Phil Schiliro, cofounder, Co-Equal; former White House director of legislative affairs, Obama administration; former Democratic staff director for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

• Melanie Egorin, professor of practice, UVA Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy; Miller Center senior fellow (moderator)

12:00–12:45pm – Break

12:45–2:00pm – Panel 3: Reforming Representation and Elections

What has been achieved and what is possible in reforming representation and elections? Has redistricting followed the “big sort” or gone beyond it? Should we think differently about how we elect our members? Can (or should) we treat external and internal reforms separately?

• Brandice Canes-Wrone, professor of political science, and senior fellow and director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

• Lee Drutman, senior fellow, Political Reform program, New America; cofounder, Fix Our House and the Center for Ballot Freedom

• Spencer Overton, Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor of Law, founder and faculty director of the Multiracial Democracy Project, George Washington University Law School

• Nick Troiano, executive director, Unite America

• Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics, UVA Department of Politics and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy; founder and codirector, Center for Effective Lawmaking

• Olivia Beavers, congressional reporter, The Wall Street Journal (moderator)

2:00–3:00pm – Closing Panel: Reflections and Pathways Forward

• Sarah Binder, professor of political science, George Washington University; senior fellow in governance studies, Brookings Institution
• Maya Kornberg, senior research fellow and manager, Elections and Government Program, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
• Mara Rudman, Miller Center senior fellow; former deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs, Clinton and Obama administrations; former chief counsel, House Foreign Affairs Committee
• Philip Wallach, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute

• James Wallner, senior fellow, Foundation for American Innovation; former executive director, Senate Steering Committee; former legislative director to Senators Jeff Sessions and Pat Toomey

• Mike Emanuel, chief Washington correspondent, FOX News Channel (moderator)