R Street Institute

R Street Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. We are a free market think-tank with a pragmatic approach to public-policy challenges. Our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government. We work extensively on both state and national policy and are dedicated to building broad coalitions and working with a wide array of groups who share specific policy goals.

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Combatting Digital Disinformation During a Global Pandemic

Organizer: R Street Institute

This event will highlight the dangers of digital disinformation for the public and for policymakers during health crises. A diverse panel of experts will explore the nature and extent of disinformation online, the challenges of communicating expertise in a politically polarized digital media environment and long-term strategies to ensure that reliable expertise is accessible to all.

Location: Webinar

What You Should Know About 2020 Disinformation and The Election

Organizer: R Street Institute

Disinformation campaigns and election manipulation were prominent in the 2016 election and are expected only to increase in the run-up to 2020. Understanding how these campaigns work and how foreign agents can take advantage of media and technological platforms will be crucial to protecting American electoral processes. This panel will present perspectives from researchers across a variety of disciplines who study how disinformation works, and whose research is a crucial first step to understanding how Congress can address this critical problem.

Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building SD-106, Washington, DC

Is Congress Too Conflictual

Organizer: R Street Institute

The chambers of the House and Senate never have been entirely genteel. Congress is the place where political conflict comes in from the street for resolution. Unfortunately, recent events have highlighted the fact that Congress has become exceedingly conflictual. Our legislature today appears to be less a place for bargaining among distinct interests than a place where the majority rolls the minority. This meeting of the Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group will discuss the factors that have led to the win-at-any-cost mentality and perpetual campaigning culture in our national legislature. It will also consider what reforms might foment more healthy political conflict.

Location: R Street Institute, 1212 New York Ave NW #900, Washington, DC

Building a 21st Century Congress That Works

Organizer: R Street Institute

Less than one in four Americans have a favorable opinion of Congress. Many legislators and congressional staff feel frustrated that they cannot get things done. Yet, our Constitution deems Congress the first branch, and the source of all legislative power. How can we reform Congress so that it can better serve the public?

To answer that question, esteemed scholars of Congress were assembled to study what's going right in Congress, what's going wrong, and how our national legislature might be improved. Inspired by the creation and action of the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (SCOMC), their analyses and recommendations were recently released in the Report of the Task Force Project on Congressional Reform. Many of the recommendations within the report relate to – and in some cases mirror – the recommendations and topics of discussion the SCOMC discussed and those that have been included in H. Res. 756. Some of the experts who contributed to this report will come to discuss their findings and recommendations at this event.

Location: The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, First Street Northeast, Room 264, Washington, DC