Register Now! Congress and the Separation of Powers

On Tuesday, September 25th, 2018 the United States Capitol Historical Society, in partnership with the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, will present “Congress and the Separation of Powers,” a forum by the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.

Audacious Vision, Uneven History, and Uncertain Future

Join us for this discussion that will bring together an ideologically diverse group of academics and experts to take a closer look at the relationship between the three branches of government, and especially Congress’s role in shaping the Executive and Judicial branches over time.

This forum complements a new exhibit in the Capitol Visitor Center’s Exhibition Hall titled Congress and the Separation of Powers, which will run through March 4, 2019.

Date: September 25, 2018
Time: 8:30-noon
Location: Capitol Visitor Center
Free and open to the public.

Audacious Vision: Why a Separation of Powers?

Moderator:

John Haskell – Director of the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress

Panelists:

Gene Healy – Vice President at the Cato Institute and a Contributing Editor to Liberty
Alison LaCroix – Robert Newton Reid Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School and an Associate Member of the University of Chicago Department of History
James I. Wallner – Senior Fellow at the R Street Institute, Adjunct Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Government at American University, and a fellow at its Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies.

Uneven History: Separation of Powers and the Struggle for Equal Rights

Moderator:

Ron Elving – Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News

Panelists:

Jesse Holland – Race & Ethnicity Reporter for The Associated Press and named one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans by TheRoot.com in 2011
Yuval Levin – Vice President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and EPPC’s Hertog Fellow as well as Founding Editor of National Affairs magazine
Victoria Nourse – Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Executive Director of the Center on Congressional Studies at Georgetown Law

Uncertain Future: Party Polarization and Legislative-Executive Balance

Moderator:

James Thurber – Distinguished Professor of Government, Founder and former Director (1979-2016) of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, and Affiliate Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and Policy at American University

Panelists:

Sarah Binder – Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and Professor of Political Science at George Washington University
Norm Ornstein – Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a Washington D.C. conservative think tank; a contributing editor and columnist for National Journal and The Atlantic; a BBC News election analyst; and the Chairman of the Campaign Legal Center
Manu Raju – Senior Congressional Correspondent at CNN covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics

About the Organizer

David Barker is Professor of Government (American Politics) and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.