Scholarship

Alex's article yesterday has me wondering whether the Roosevelt Scholars Act will pass either house of Congress this session, much less become law. The bill seems practical and focused, and unlikely to spiral out of cost control: there will be a limited number, but probably still substantial, of people who both are willing to take on the public service required to get the money, and who are studying in the designated fields. Obviously we'd need a cost score to see what the actual price would be, but the bill ought to establish a reasonably targeted pipeline into some federal occupations.

But I also wonder how the bill is going to interact with other legislation affecting federal employees. After a burst of activity: bills introduced, bills dissected in committee hearings, bills passing out of committee and even bills passing the House, things slowed down as we approached recess. The two big bills, at least as I see them, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act and the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, haven't been touched by the Senate yet, leaving me wondering how they rank on a long list of priorities for the relevant lawmakers (who, admittedly, have been spending a bunch of the time they might have spent passing federal employee-relevant bills confirmed federal employee-relevant nominees.).

And as debates over health care and climate change heat up both in the House, which has done substantial work on both, and the Senate, which is much further behind, I fear that federal management bills will be some of the first to slip off the legislative cliff. I could be wrong. Things could get passed because lawmakers want to accomplish things, or because the White House pushes for something that looks like an easy win. But it would be a shame if, after a promising start to the legislative session, this one ends up resembling so many that have gone before it.