Wilson Seminar Series

The organized legislative discussions continue throughout the year with the Wilson Seminar series. Begun in collaboration with the Library of Congress' Office of Scholarly Programs, the seminars are designed to enlarge Fellows' understanding of Congress beyond what they would be expected to learn in their office assignments. They are held twice a month in the U.S. Capitol.

Guest discussants are drawn from such support entities as the Office of Legislative Counsel, General Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office, the House Parliamentarian, and the leadership of congressional caucuses. To supplement the program's limited international participation, up to a dozen senior Fulbright scholars in the D.C. area are invited to the seminars as guests.

The seminars are held twice a month in the U.S. Capitol, courtesy of the office of Advisory Committee member Senator Richard Lugar. The following represents a typical schedule.

WILSON SEMINAR SCHEDULE

*Indicates a former Congressional Fellow

Congress in an Election Year
Dr. Norman J. Ornstein,* Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute

Order in the House
Hon. Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives

Legislative-Executive Branch Relations
Louis Fisher,* Government and Finance Division, Congressional Research Service

Where Politics Meets the Press - The Press Galleries
Mr. Jerry Gallegos, Superintendent, House Daily Press Gallery
Mr. Robert Zatkowski, Director, House Periodical Press Gallery
Ms. Tina Tate, Director, House Radio-Television Gallery

Prospects for Reform in an Election Year
Joan Claybrook,* President, Public Citizen

The Role of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct
Mr. Bernard Raimo, Jr., Counsel, Office of the House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

The Role of the Congressional Budget Office
Ms. Melissa Merson,* Director of Communications, CBO

Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Preserving our Liberties while Fighting Terrorism
Mr. Timothy Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice, The Cato Institute

U.S.-Canada Bilateral Relations
Mr. Chris Sands, Senior Associate, Americas Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Role of the General Accounting Office
Ms. Helen Hsing, Director of Special Projects, GAO
Ms. Gloria Jarmon, Director of Congressional Relations, GAO

Transforming Ideas into Law: The Role of the Legislative Counsel
Mr. Stanley Grimm, Office of the Legislative Counsel, U.S. House of Representatitves

The Political Landscape in 2005
Mr. Charles Cook, Editor and Publisher, The Cook Political Report and The National Journal

The Bush Presidency
Dr. Martha Joynt Kumar, Director, White House 2001 Project

The State of the Country from a Journalist's Perspective
Mr. David Broder,* Political correspondent and syndicated columnist, The Washington Post

The Press, the Public and Politics in a Primary Season
Andrew Kohut, Director, Director, The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

"'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' and His Progeny" - Congress on Film
Mr. Michael Canning,* Film Critic, The Hill Rag