Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Meet the reformer: Kevin Kosar, strong voice for a stronger Congress

Kevin Kosar

Kevin Kosar testifying on Capitol Hill in December 2016.

House Government Oversight Committee

Kevin Kosar is vice president of policy at R Street Institute and also cofounder of the nonpartisan Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group, which aims to strengthen Congress. He was previously a senior official at the Congressional Research Service, where he served as an analyst and research manager. His answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

What's the tweet-length description of your organization?

R Street is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. Our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government.


Describe your very first civic engagement.

Voting in the 1988 presidential primaries. I was 18, registered as a Democrat, as my mother would not have it any other way. I pulled the lever for Al Gore, who was a conservative Democrat back in those days. I am an independent these days, although I am effectively disenfranchised: I live in Washington, which has no congressional representation, and which locally is dominated by liberal and ultra-liberal Democrats.

What was your biggest professional triumph?

That is hard to say. I'm delighted to have a new book coming out next year with New America's Lee Drutman and James Madison University's Tim LaPira: "Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline in Congressional Capacity and the Prospects for Reform," published by the University of Chicago Press. I also am really proud of the nonpartisan legislative branch reform movement I have helped build. If we are lucky, we might just upgrade Congress to meet the demands of the 21st century.

And your most disappointing setback?

To date, I have not been able to get Congress to improve its budgeting. Our country is racking up shocking deficits and is doing nothing to deal with looming entitlement and pension crises. We could end up like Greece, yet Capitol Hill will not come together to act. The math is what it is, and I am really worried we are headed toward a financial cataclysm.

How does your identity influence the way you go about your work?

I don't think I am the smartest person in the room — nor have I ever. So when it comes to trying to improve policy, I listen to a range of ideas and ask a lot of questions. I guess that also speaks to my congenital curiosity. I enjoy learning, I really do, and like working with others who enjoy learning.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Don't assume good reasons are persuasive. Humans are complicated creatures, and it often takes more than facts and figures to get them to see things differently. For folks looking to reform government or politics, that means one needs to be patient and spend a great deal of time building authentic relationships.

Create a new flavor for Ben & Jerry's.

Bourbon vanilla crunch — because it would be delicious.

West Wing or Veep?

With four kids and two puppies, I've not much time for television. And when I do have time, I tune into football games. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Ohio State Buckeyes are my teams. Also films and oddball series like "The Good Place" and "Parks and Recreation."

What's the last thing you do on your phone at night?

Often I shake my head in dismay at the toxicity on Twitter. Inevitably, I double-check my schedule for the coming day to learn: Where will I be? What should I wear? When will I next get to go fishing?

What is your deepest, darkest secret?

Many years ago, I helped throw a vodka festival in Grand Central Station in New York City. A couple hundred folks attended, and it was a crazy night. Penthouse Pets showed up, as did firemen and Wall Street sorts. The event raised about $15,000 for 9/11 first responders. But that is just the tip of my drinky iceberg. I have written books on whiskey and moonshine and have blogged about alcohol since 1998. None of which one would expect from a person trained as a political scientist who spends his days trying to make Congress great again.

Read More

Is Bombing Iran Deja Vu All Over Again?

The B-2 "Spirit" Stealth Bomber flys over the 136th Rose Parade Presented By Honda on Jan. 1, 2025, in Pasadena, California. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images/TNS)

Jerod Harris/Getty Images/TNS)

Is Bombing Iran Deja Vu All Over Again?

After a short and successful war with Iraq, President George H.W. Bush claimed in 1991 that “the ghosts of Vietnam have been laid to rest beneath the sands of the Arabian desert.” Bush was referring to what was commonly called the “Vietnam syndrome.” The idea was that the Vietnam War had so scarred the American psyche that we forever lost confidence in American power.

The elder President Bush was partially right. The first Iraq war was certainly popular. And his successor, President Clinton, used American power — in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere — with the general approval of the media and the public.

Keep ReadingShow less
Conspiratorial Thinking Isn’t Growing–Its Consequences Are
a close up of a typewriter with the word conspiracy on it

Conspiratorial Thinking Isn’t Growing–Its Consequences Are

The Comet Ping Pong Pizzagate shooting, the plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and a man’s livestreamed beheading of his father last year were all fueled by conspiracy theories. But while the headlines suggest that conspiratorial thinking is on the rise, this is not the case. Research points to no increase in conspiratorial thinking. Still, to a more dangerous reality: the conspiracies taking hold and being amplified by political ideologues are increasingly correlated with violence against particular groups. Fortunately, promising new research points to actions we can take to reduce conspiratorial thinking in communities across the US.

Some journalists claim that this is “a golden age of conspiracy theories,” and the public agrees. As of 2022, 59% of Americans think that people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories today than 25 years ago, and 73% of Americans think conspiracy theories are “out of control.” Most blame this perceived increase on the role of social media and the internet.

Keep ReadingShow less
We Can Save Our Earth: Environment Opportunities 2025
a group of windmills in the sky above the clouds

We Can Save Our Earth: Environment Opportunities 2025

On May 8th, 2025, the Network for Responsible Public Policy (NFRPP) convened a session to discuss the future of the transition to clean energy in the face of some stiff headwinds caused by the new US administration led by Donald Trump. The panel included Dale Bryk, Director of State and Regional Policy at the Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program and a Senior Fellow at the Regional Plan Association, and Dan Sosland, President of the Acadia Center. The discussion was moderated by Richard Eidlin, National Policy Director for Business for America.

 
 


Keep ReadingShow less