Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress

Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress PDF Author: Jonathan Lewallen
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472132067
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 191

Get Book Here

Book Description
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 Record

Congressional Record PDF Author: United States. Congress
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1452

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

House Committee Markups

House Committee Markups PDF Author: Michael L. Koempel
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437930042
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 213

Get Book Here

Book Description
A principal responsibility of a comm. in the U.S. House of Rep. is to conduct markups ¿ to select legislation to consider, debate and vote on amend. to it (to mark up), and report their recomm. to the House. This manual examines procedures and strategy related to comm. markups and provides sample procedural scripts. Contents: Introduction; Comm. Rules; Procedural Restrictions on Markups; Referral of Legislation; Considerations Prior to Markup; Procedural Strategy and the Choice of a Markup Vehicle; Beginning a Markup; Reading a Measure for Amend.; Points of Order; Motions; Voting; Reporting a Measure; Comm. Reports; Options for House Floor Consideration; Considerations in a Two-House Strategy; and Role of Committee and Staff.

House Practice

House Practice PDF Author: William Holmes Brown
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1036

Get Book Here

Book Description


Setting Course

Setting Course PDF Author: Craig Schultz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 404

Get Book Here

Book Description


A Manual of Parliamentary Practice

A Manual of Parliamentary Practice PDF Author: Thomas Jefferson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description


Committee Markup in the U.S. House of Representatives

Committee Markup in the U.S. House of Representatives PDF Author: Michael Koempel
Publisher: The Capitol Net Inc
ISBN: 158733206X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Get Book Here

Book Description
This detailed description of how congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation includes the House Committee Markups Manual of Procedures and Procedural Strategies.

Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress

Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress PDF Author: Craig Volden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521761522
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Congressional Pictorial Directory

Congressional Pictorial Directory PDF Author: United States. Congress
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description


Congressional Procedure

Congressional Procedure PDF Author: Richard A. Arenberg
Publisher: The Capitol Net Inc
ISBN: 1587332833
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A clear explanation of the workings of the United States government that should be required reading for politically engaged Americans." -- KIRKUS Congressional Procedure explains the legislative and congressional budget processes along with all aspects of Congress. This comprehensive guide to Congress is ideal for anyone who wants to know how Congress really works, including federal executives, attorneys, lobbyists, media and public affairs staff, government affairs, policy and budget analysts, congressional office staff and students. Clear explanation of the legislative process, budget process, and House and Senate business - Legislative process flowchart - Explanation of the electoral college and votes by states - Relationship between budget resolutions and appropriation and authorization bills - Amendment tree and amendment procedures - How members are assigned to committees - Glossary of legislative terms Each chapter concludes with Review Questions. Chapter 1 examines the relationship between the U.S. Constitution and the House and Senate. It discusses Constitutional provisions that directly affect Congress. The makeup, roles and leadership of the House and Senate are compared and contrasted. Congressional committees and their place and power in the House and Senate are explored. Chapter 2 begins with a discussion of why members submit legislation, explains the forms of legislation, and lays out the steps involved in drafting legislation. Bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions and simple House and Senate resolutions and their purposes are separately described. Ends with a flowchart of the legislative process. In Chapter 3, the work of Congressional committees is examined in greater detail: types of committees and their structures; subcommittees; power of the chairs of committees; hearings, markups and amendment procedure in committee; and the reporting of legislation to the House and Senate floor. Chapters 4 and 5 follow the course of legislation through the respective chambers and some of the more arcane elements of House and Senate floor action. Chapter 4 addresses some of the unique characteristics of the House including the central and crucial role played by the Rules Committee and the special rules it reports. Scheduling, consideration, amending, and passage of legislation through the House is described in detail. Chapter 5 discusses the handling of legislation on the Senate floor, including unique Senate characteristics like the filibuster, the nuclear option, holds, and the filling of the amendment tree. Chapter 6 explains the various procedures for resolving differences in legislation between the Senate and the House. The budget process is addressed in Chapter 7, including appropriations and authorization procedures, the 1974 Budget and Impoundment Control Act and the key role it has played since its adoption, the use of the optional budget reconciliation process, and the somewhat complex but crucial Byrd Rule. Chapter 8 concludes the detail and analysis of Congressional procedure with a number of processes that are not strictly legislative, including a number of Constitutional responsibilities given to Congress such as oversight and investigation and advice and consent, counting of Electoral College ballots, and impeachment. The conclusion, Chapter 9, describes the way in which many of the procedures explained in this book are increasingly being used, and some would say abused, in both the House and the Senate. Glossary Index Also see related CRS Reports and links on TCNCPAM.com For detailed Table of Contents, see CongressionalProcedure.com