Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking
Title | Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking PDF eBook |
Author | Barbara Sinclair |
Publisher | JHU Press |
Pages | 362 |
Release | 1998-06-26 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 9780801857126 |
Recently plagued by gridlock, huge deficits, and deep policy differences, Congress has often been the target of relentless and bitter criticism. Asking how the House performs its legislative functions in such a context, political scientist Barbara Sinclair traces the emergence of a House majority party leadership that is highly active and deeply involved in multiple aspects of the legislative process.
Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress
Title | Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress PDF eBook |
Author | Craig Volden |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 261 |
Release | 2014-10-27 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 0521761522 |
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.
Unorthodox Lawmaking
Title | Unorthodox Lawmaking PDF eBook |
Author | Barbara Sinclair |
Publisher | CQ Press |
Pages | 330 |
Release | 2016-06-22 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1506322859 |
Most major measures wind their way through the contemporary Congress in what Barbara Sinclair has dubbed “unorthodox lawmaking.” In this much-anticipated Fifth Edition of Unorthodox Lawmaking, Sinclair explores the full range of special procedures and processes that make up Congress’s work, as well as the reasons these unconventional routes evolved. The author introduces students to the intricacies of Congress and provides the tools to assess the relative successes and limitations of the institution. This dramatically updated revision incorporates a wealth of new cases and examples to illustrate the changes occurring in congressional process. Two entirely new case study chapters—on the 2013 government shutdown and the 2015 reauthorization of the Patriot Act—highlight Sinclair’s fresh analysis and the book is now introduced by a new foreword from noted scholar and teacher, Bruce I. Oppenheimer, reflecting on this book and Barbara Sinclair’s significant mark on the study of Congress.
Legislative Style
Title | Legislative Style PDF eBook |
Author | William Bernhard |
Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
Pages | 271 |
Release | 2018-02-01 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 022651031X |
Once elected, members of Congress face difficult decisions about how to allocate their time and effort. On which issues should they focus? What is the right balance between working in one’s district and on Capitol Hill? How much should they engage with the media to cultivate a national reputation? William Bernhard and Tracy Sulkin argue that these decisions and others define a “legislative style” that aligns with a legislator’s ambitions, experiences, and personal inclinations, as well as any significant electoral and institutional constraints. Bernhard and Sulkin have developed a systematic approach for looking at legislative style through a variety of criteria, including the number of the bills passed, number of speeches given, amount of money raised, and the percentage of time a legislator voted in line with his or her party. Applying this to ten congresses, representing twenty years of congressional data, from 1989 to 2009, they reveal that legislators’ activity falls within five predictable styles. These styles remain relatively consistent throughout legislators’ time in office, though a legislator’s style can change as career goals evolve, as well as with changes to individual or larger political interests, as in redistricting or a majority shift. Offering insight into a number of enduring questions in legislative politics, Legislative Style is a rich and nuanced account of legislators’ activity on Capitol Hill.
Legislative Leadership in the American States
Title | Legislative Leadership in the American States PDF eBook |
Author | Malcolm E. Jewell |
Publisher | University of Michigan Press |
Pages | 250 |
Release | 1994 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 9780472105175 |
A pioneering study of leadership styles at the state level
Oregon Blue Book
Title | Oregon Blue Book PDF eBook |
Author | Oregon. Office of the Secretary of State |
Publisher | |
Pages | 232 |
Release | 1895 |
Genre | Oregon |
ISBN |
Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Congress
Title | Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Congress PDF eBook |
Author | Maxmillian Angerholzer III |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing USA |
Pages | 439 |
Release | 2014-10-10 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1440832005 |
Published in partnership with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, this book offers insightful examinations of congressional success and failure from the New Deal to today by leading political scholars and journalists. This analysis identifies lessons learned throughout history relevant to present and future politics. In many ways, Congress has shaped decades of prosperity at home and what is known as the "American Century" abroad. Great individuals have shaped the institution while also overcoming partisanship and rivalry for the sake of the nation. Still, others have succumbed to hubris and the pressure for partisan discord. Throughout this narrative, power has shifted regularly between Congress and the president, creating a very different era of conflict and collaboration. This book examines what has worked and what has failed, the extraordinary individuals who have led America's citizen legislators, and the landmark battles and victories that have shaped our nation's history. It offers the stories behind the headlines, the thinking behind key decisions, and the difficult compromises that have marked the most important episodes in Congressional history. An invaluable resource for political science majors and researchers in the field, professionals in Washington working in congressional offices, and readers interested in how Congress works and the reasons for recurring gridlock in government, Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Congress: Case Studies in Legislative Leadership describes how Congress has fought internally and externally to define itself and protect its prerogatives, identifying means and methods, politics and pitfalls, collaboration and conflict, challenges and breakthroughs, and unintended consequences throughout history. Case studies of notable congressional leaders that highlight their significant actions—both good and bad—are also provided.