On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that the House of Representatives would launch a formal inquiry into whether grounds exist to impeach President Donald Trump. The short speech lacked substance or any indication as to what the next steps would be in the process or whether anything will change at all.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee will consider a resolution that would establish the parameters of an impeachment investigation against President Donald Trump. The resolution is far outside the norm in the modern practice of impeachment in the House of Representatives. Essentially, Democrats on the committee are launching pseudo-impeachment inquiry without any authorization to do so. For more information on the history of impeachment, see Presidential Impeachment in History and Procedure, published by FreedomWorks in March 2019. This issue brief was co-authored by Bob Barr, who served in the House from 1995 to 2003 and was an impeachment manager during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently issued a ruling in a case on “faithless electors,” Baca v. Colorado Department of State, that has received some media attention. The case is certainly interesting and the opinion from the court is thoughtful and thorough. The opinion from the court is deserving of some explanation of what it could mean for 2020 and beyond. There has also been speculation of the decision’s impact on the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which is also deserving of explanation.

Scheduled session days for the rest of the year: Both the House and the Senate will return on Monday, September 9. There are legislative days 13 legislative days scheduled in the House and 15 in the Senate between September 9 and September 30, which is the end of FY 2019. There are 45 legislative days scheduled in the House and 53 in the Senate between September 9 and the end of the calendar year.

Schedule:

The passenger facility charge (PFC) is a local user fee included in the cost of an airline ticket that can be used by airports for specific purposes defined by statute and regulation. These purposes include airport or terminal developments and improvements, noise reduction, and competition among air carriers. The PFC is currently capped at $4.50 per passenger per flight segment. For a round-trip, direct flight from Atlanta to Washington, D.C, for example, the PFC would be a total of $9.00. A round trip flight from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., with layovers in Charlotte on both destination and return flights, would be capped at $18.

The House and Senate are in session this week