Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress

Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress
Author :
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Total Pages : 191
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780472132065
ISBN-13 : 0472132067
Rating : 4/5 (067 Downloads)

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.


Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress Related Books

Committees and the Decline of Lawmaking in Congress
Language: en
Pages: 191
Authors: Jonathan Lewallen
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-08-14 - Publisher: University of Michigan Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The public, journalists, and legislators themselves have often lamented a decline in congressional lawmaking in recent years, often blaming party politics for t
Congress Overwhelmed
Language: en
Pages: 341
Authors: Timothy M. LaPira
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-12-07 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Congress today is falling short. Fewer bills, worse oversight, and more dysfunction. But why? In a new volume of essays, the contributors investigate an underap
Turf Wars
Language: en
Pages: 234
Authors: David C. King
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 1997-09-02 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For most bills in American legislatures, the issue of turf—or which committee has jurisdiction over a bill—can make all the difference. Turf governs the flo
The Modern Legislative Veto
Language: en
Pages: 353
Authors: Michael J. Berry
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-05-10 - Publisher: University of Michigan Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An important examination of the legislative veto and the ongoing battle between the executive and the legislature to control policy
Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress
Language: en
Pages: 261
Authors: Craig Volden
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-10-27 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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 org