Committees And The Decline Of Lawmaking In Congress

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Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress

Author : Jonathan Lewallen
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472126997
Total Pages : 191 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (721 download)

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Book Synopsis Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress by : Jonathan Lewallen

Download or read book Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress written by Jonathan Lewallen and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2020-08-14 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The public, journalists, and legislators themselves have often lamented a decline in congressional lawmaking in recent years, often blaming party politics for the lack of legislative output. In Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress, Jonathan Lewallen examines the decline in lawmaking from a new, committee-centered perspective. Lewallen tests his theory against other explanations such as partisanship and an increased demand for oversight with multiple empirical tests and traces shifts in policy activity by policy area using the Policy Agendas Project coding scheme. He finds that because party leaders have more control over the legislative agenda, committees have spent more of their time conducting oversight instead. Partisanship alone does not explain this trend; changes in institutional rules and practices that empowered party leaders have created more uncertainty for committees and contributed to a shift in their policy activities. The shift toward oversight at the committee level combined with party leader control over the voting agenda means that many members of Congress are effectively cut out of many of the institution’s policy decisions. At a time when many, including Congress itself, are considering changes to modernize the institution and keep up with a stronger executive branch, the findings here suggest that strengthening Congress will require more than running different candidates or providing additional resources.

The Decline and Resurgence of Congress

Author : James L. Sundquist
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
ISBN 13 : 0815723644
Total Pages : 513 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (157 download)

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Book Synopsis The Decline and Resurgence of Congress by : James L. Sundquist

Download or read book The Decline and Resurgence of Congress written by James L. Sundquist and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2002-09-13 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Solid ground for optimism as well as cause for foreboding." So James L. Sundquist views the outcome of the struggle by the Congress in the 1970s to recapture powers and responsibilities that in preceding decades it had surrendered to a burgeoning presidency. The resurgence of the Congress began in 1973, in its historic constitutional clash with President Nixon. For half a century before that time, the Congress had acquiesced in its own decline vis-à-vis the presidency, or had even initiated it, by building the presidential office as the center of leadership and coordination in the U.S. government and organizing itself not to initiate and lead but to react and follow. But the angry confrontation with President Nixon in the winter of 1972-73 galvanized the Congress to seek to regain what it considered its proper place in the constitutional scheme. Within a short period, it had created a new congressional budget process, prohibited impoundment of appropriated funds, enacted the War Powers Resolution, intensified oversight of the executive, extended the legislative veto over a wide range of executive actions, and vastly expanded its staff resources. The Decline and Resurgence of Congress, after reviewing relations between president and Congress over two centuries, traces the long series of congressional decisions that created the modern presidency and relates these to certain weaknesses that the Congress recognized in itself. It then recounts the events that marked the years of resurgence and evaluates the results. Finally, it analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the new Congress and appraises its potential for leadership and coordination.

Congress Overwhelmed

Author : Timothy M. LaPira
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022670257X
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Congress Overwhelmed by : Timothy M. LaPira

Download or read book Congress Overwhelmed written by Timothy M. LaPira and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-12-07 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Congress today is falling short. Fewer bills, worse oversight, and more dysfunction. But why? In a new volume of essays, the contributors investigate an underappreciated reason Congress is struggling: it doesn’t have the internal capacity to do what our constitutional system requires of it. Leading scholars chronicle the institutional decline of Congress and the decades-long neglect of its own internal investments in the knowledge and expertise necessary to perform as a first-rate legislature. Today’s legislators and congressional committees have fewer—and less expert and experienced—staff than the executive branch or K Street. This leaves them at the mercy of lobbyists and the administrative bureaucracy. The essays in Congress Overwhelmed assess Congress’s declining capacity and explore ways to upgrade it. Some provide broad historical scope. Others evaluate the current decay and investigate how Congress manages despite the obstacles. Collectively, they undertake the most comprehensive, sophisticated appraisal of congressional capacity to date, and they offer a new analytical frame for thinking about—and improving—our underperforming first branch of government.

Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress

Author : Jonathan Lewallen
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 9780472126996
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (269 download)

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Book Synopsis Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress by : Jonathan Lewallen

Download or read book Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress written by Jonathan Lewallen and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2020-08-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The public, journalists, and legislators themselves have often lamented a decline in congressional lawmaking in recent years, often blaming party politics for the lack of legislative output. In Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress, Jonathan Lewallen examines the decline in lawmaking from a new, committee-centered perspective. Lewallen tests his theory against other explanations such as partisanship and an increased demand for oversight with multiple empirical tests and traces shifts in policy activity by policy area using the Policy Agendas Project coding scheme. He finds that because party leaders have more control over the legislative agenda, committees have spent more of their time conducting oversight instead. Partisanship alone does not explain this trend; changes in institutional rules and practices that empowered party leaders have created more uncertainty for committees and contributed to a shift in their policy activities. The shift toward oversight at the committee level combined with party leader control over the voting agenda means that many members of Congress are effectively cut out of many of the institution’s policy decisions. At a time when many, including Congress itself, are considering changes to modernize the institution and keep up with a stronger executive branch, the findings here suggest that strengthening Congress will require more than running different candidates or providing additional resources.

Congressional Committees

Author : Lauros Grant McConachie
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 466 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Congressional Committees by : Lauros Grant McConachie

Download or read book Congressional Committees written by Lauros Grant McConachie and published by . This book was released on 1898 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Committees in Congress

Author : Steven S. Smith
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Committees in Congress by : Steven S. Smith

Download or read book Committees in Congress written by Steven S. Smith and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

You Better Find Something to Do

Author : Jonathan Daniel Lewallen
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis You Better Find Something to Do by : Jonathan Daniel Lewallen

Download or read book You Better Find Something to Do written by Jonathan Daniel Lewallen and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Congress has significantly curtailed its lawmaking activities in recent years, and many commentators, scholars, and legislators themselves point to a decline in the institution’s output. Two trends blur this focus. First, the number of substantive (non-commemorative) laws enacted by Congress did not significantly decline until very recently. Second, that the roots of this decline have been growing for several decades, in the committee system. Data from 1981 to 2012 show that congressional committees have significantly shifted their activity towards oversight and other non-legislative policymaking at the expense of advancing legislation. Congressional committees act as Congress’s agenda setting capacity by determining what issues the institution can and will address and how it does so. Any explanation for a decline in congressional lawmaking, therefore, must begin with committees. I develop a theory of committee policymaking in this dissertation based on the limited agenda space decisionmakers face. Making policy through legislative or non-legislative means involves opportunity costs, and committees face uncertainty about whether their legislative work will bear fruit. With this theory as a guide, I test three explanations for the longitudinal shift in committee activity away from legislation. While current and former members of Congress, commentators, and other observers blame political gridlock and an expanding executive branch, I find that changes made to the legislative process itself have altered the incentives for committees to compete for agenda space and make policy through legislation. Members of both parties have centralized agenda setting responsibilities under party leaders over the last three decades, which has altered the contours and availability of legislative authority. My findings have important implications for Congress’s role in the policy process and how scholars and citizens evaluate the institution, including the importance of committee incentives and capacity for congressional agenda setting.

How Our Laws are Made

Author : John V. Sullivan
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 72 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (327 download)

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Book Synopsis How Our Laws are Made by : John V. Sullivan

Download or read book How Our Laws are Made written by John V. Sullivan and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Committee

Author : Bryan William Marshall
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472038826
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (72 download)

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Book Synopsis The Committee by : Bryan William Marshall

Download or read book The Committee written by Bryan William Marshall and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2021-09-16 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A deftly crafted insider account of how congressional committees really work, updated for 2021

Losing to Win

Author : Jeremy Gelman
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472054600
Total Pages : 183 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (72 download)

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Book Synopsis Losing to Win by : Jeremy Gelman

Download or read book Losing to Win written by Jeremy Gelman and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2020-07-22 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most everyone, voters, political scientists, even lawmakers, think Congress is dysfunctional. Instead of solving problems, Democrats and Republicans spend their time playing politics. These days Capitol Hill seems more a place to bicker, not to pass laws. The reality is more complicated. Yes, sometimes Congress is broken. But sometimes it is productive. What explains this variation? Why do Democrats and Republicans choose to legislate or score political points? And why do some issues become so politicized they devolve into partisan warfare, while others remain safe for compromise? Losing to Win answers these questions through a novel theory of agenda-setting. Unlike other research that studies bills that become law, Jeremy Gelman begins from the opposite perspective. He studies why majority parties knowingly take up dead-on-arrival (DOA) bills, the ideas everyone knows are going to lose. In doing so, he argues that congressional parties’ decisions to play politics instead of compromising, and the topics on which they choose to bicker, are strategic and predictable. Gelman finds that legislative dysfunction arises from a mutually beneficial relationship between a majority party in Congress, which is trying to win unified government, and its allied interest groups, which are trying to enact their policies. He also challenges the conventional wisdom that DOA legislation is political theater. By tracking bills over time, Gelman shows that some former dead-on-arrival ideas eventually become law. In this way, ideas viewed as too extreme or partisan today can produce long-lasting future policy changes. Through his analysis, Gelman provides an original explanation for why both parties pursue the partisan bickering that voters find so frustrating. He moves beyond conventional arguments that our discordant politics are merely the result of political polarization. Instead, he closely examines the specific circumstances that give rise to legislative dysfunction. The result is a fresh, straightforward perspective on the question we have all asked at some point, “Why can’t Democrats and Republicans stop fighting and just get something done?”

The Broken Branch

Author : Thomas E. Mann
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0195368711
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (953 download)

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Book Synopsis The Broken Branch by : Thomas E. Mann

Download or read book The Broken Branch written by Thomas E. Mann and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two nationally renowned congressional scholars review the evolution of Congress from the early days of the republic to 2006, arguing that extreme partisanship and a disregard for institutional procedures are responsible for the institution's current state of dysfunction.

Inside Congressional Committees

Author : Maya Kornberg
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231554281
Total Pages : 302 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Inside Congressional Committees by : Maya Kornberg

Download or read book Inside Congressional Committees written by Maya Kornberg and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2023-02-07 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is widely believed that Congress has broken down. Media accounts present the storied legislature as thoroughly gridlocked, paralyzed by partisan rancor. Political scientists find that Congress is passing fewer laws and spending less time on legislative work. Which parts of a supposedly dysfunctional legislature continue to function? Maya L. Kornberg examines the legislative process beyond voting patterns, emphasizing the crucial role of congressional committee hearings. In committees, lawmakers hear from expert witnesses, legislators revise and discuss bills before bringing them to a vote, and the public has an opportunity to engage with Congress. Kornberg scrutinizes the inner workings of committees—the different types of witnesses who testify, the varied hearings Congress holds, and the distinct effects that committee work has on congresspeople. She deploys original mixed-methods datasets that span from insider interviews to sentiment analysis examining the language used in hearings. Kornberg evaluates how committees operate and the conditions affecting their performance, finding that committee work can be more deliberative and productive than the politics of the Congress floor. Through a comprehensive exploration of who committees hear from and how they listen, this book demonstrates that Congress is not as dysfunctional as is often claimed. Inside Congressional Committees also suggests timely reforms based on these findings that can strengthen Congress.

Congressional Committees; a Study of the Origin and Development of Our National and Local Legislative Methods

Author : Lauros Grant McConachie
Publisher : Theclassics.Us
ISBN 13 : 9781230199849
Total Pages : 102 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis Congressional Committees; a Study of the Origin and Development of Our National and Local Legislative Methods by : Lauros Grant McConachie

Download or read book Congressional Committees; a Study of the Origin and Development of Our National and Local Legislative Methods written by Lauros Grant McConachie and published by Theclassics.Us. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 edition. Excerpt: ... APPENDIX VI. RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Rule I. DUTIES OF THE SPEAKER. 1. The Speaker shall take the chair on every legislative day precisely at the hour to which the House shall have adjourned at the last sitting, immediately call the members to order, and on the appearance of a quorum, cause the Journal of the proceedings of the last day's sitting to be read, having previously examined and approved the same. 2. He shall preserve order and decorum, and, in case of disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries, or In the lobby, may cause the same to be cleared. 3. He shall have general control, except as provided by rule or law, of the Hall of the House, and of the corridors and passages and of the unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House, until further order. 4. He shall sign all acts, addresses, joint resolutions, writs, warrants, and subpoenas of, or issued by order of, the House, and decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal by any member, on which appeal no member shall speak more than once, unless by permission of the House. 5. He shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting; and shall put questions in this form, to wit: "As many as are in favor (as the question may be), say Aye;" and after the affirmative voice is expressed, "As many as are opposed, say No;" if he doubts, or a division is called for, the House shall divide; those in the affirmative of the question shall first rise from their seats, and then those in the negative; if he still doubts, or a count is required by at least one-fifth of a quorum, he shall name one from each side of the question, to tell the members in the affirmative and negative; which being reported, he...

Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress

Author : Craig Volden
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521761522
Total Pages : 261 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (217 download)

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Book Synopsis Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress by : Craig Volden

Download or read book Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress written by Craig Volden and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-27 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores why some members of Congress are more effective than others at navigating the legislative process and what this means for how Congress is organized and what policies it produces. Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman develop a new metric of individual legislator effectiveness (the Legislative Effectiveness Score) that will be of interest to scholars, voters, and politicians alike. They use these scores to study party influence in Congress, the successes or failures of women and African Americans in Congress, policy gridlock, and the specific strategies that lawmakers employ to advance their agendas.

The Committee

Author : Bryan William Marshall
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472053833
Total Pages : 309 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (72 download)

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Book Synopsis The Committee by : Bryan William Marshall

Download or read book The Committee written by Bryan William Marshall and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2018-07-02 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A deftly crafted insider account of how congressional committees really work

The Little Legislatures

Author : George Goodwin
Publisher : [Amherst] : University of Massachusetts Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Little Legislatures by : George Goodwin

Download or read book The Little Legislatures written by George Goodwin and published by [Amherst] : University of Massachusetts Press. This book was released on 1970 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this study, Mr. Goodwin deals with decision making in the American Congress. He maintains that competition among political organizations and government institutions plays an extremely important role, but that political parties, both parliamentary and national, are relatively weak participants in the struggles. Mr. Goodwin shows that bi-partisan, specialized standing committees, often acting as surrogates for the whole Congress, are a powerful force in Congress, and are on occasion powerful enough to stand as equals of the President. The author makes clear that any analysis of decision making must appreciate the strength of the committees, and their particular place in the democratic process. The Little Legislatures traces the development of the committee system in both the House and the Senate from the beginning of World War II through the Johnson Administration. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the organization, makeup, and assignment traditions of the standing committees, and presents innovative ideas for reform of the system.

Why Congressional Reforms Fail

Author : E. Scott Adler
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226007561
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (26 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Congressional Reforms Fail by : E. Scott Adler

Download or read book Why Congressional Reforms Fail written by E. Scott Adler and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2002-06-15 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, advocates of congressional reforms have repeatedly attempted to clean up the House committee system, which has been called inefficient, outmoded, unaccountable, and even corrupt. Yet these efforts result in little if any change, as members of Congress who are generally satisfied with existing institutions repeatedly obstruct what could fairly be called innocuous reforms. What lies behind the House's resistance to change? Challenging recent explanations of this phenomenon, Scott Adler contends that legislators resist rearranging committee powers and jurisdictions for the same reason they cling to the current House structure—the ambition for reelection. The system's structure works to the members' advantage, helping them obtain funding (and favor) in their districts. Using extensive evidence from three major reform periods—the 1940s, 1970s, and 1990s—Adler shows that the reelection motive is still the most important underlying factor in determining the outcome of committee reforms, and he explains why committee reform in the House has never succeeded and probably never will.