4-5 pages long (not including header), double-spaced, 12 point font
Must use at least 5 cited sources from reputable news & opinion outlets
The newly-elected Biden administration is facing a raging pandemic, a deep recession, high levels of political polarization and a myriad of other pressing issues. It will have to navigate these crises through an evenly split Senate and a diminished Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.
In a short research paper, present a major piece of legislation the Biden administration could hope to pass to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession and/or hyper-partisanship in our politics and political institutions.
Some examples that the administration is currently pushing are a major infrastructure package & a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Your paper should seek to do the following:
Describe issues in our existing system that this major piece of legislation would seek to solve.
Propose policy reforms needed to confront and solve these issues. Essentially, what is in the bill?
Explain how these reforms can pass in a divided government with a 50/50 senate split.
If youre going to assert that something can pass by just a narrow majority through Budget Reconciliation, you will have to explain how that is possible. The rules around using this maneuver are very strict.
If youre going to chart a bipartisan path to a filibuster-proof majority, you will need to do some thinking around how the Democrats can get 10 or more Republicans on board with their plan.
Quality news sources:
-Any large newspapers (NY Times, Washington Post, SF Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, etc.)
-Reputable politics blogs (Politico, The Hill, Real Clear Politics, Five Thirty Eight, etc.)
