... government congressional capacity bipartisanship party party influence Constitution An effective party system requires, first, that the parties are able to bring forth programs to which they commit themselves and, second, that the parties possess sufficient internal cohesion to carry out these programs...

... of government congressional capacity Grover Norquist once famously declared that he hoped to shrink government to the point where he could “drown it in the bathtub.” When one looks out across the vast expanse of the federal government’s activities today, one wonders what kind of canyon-sized bathtub he had...

... congressional committees congressional staff legislative studies legislative productivity policy development policy knowledge seniority congressional capacity Congress So my chief counsel … he’s a lawyer, and he’d been doing it for a long while, so he was an expert on that whole process. How do you...

...This chapter explores the interplay between bipartisanship and congressional capacity through a focus on two questions. First, why is bipartisanship important for Congress to solve problems and govern? Second, how are the institutional structures underlying congressional capacity—the distribution...

...In this introduction, the volume editors introduce the framework of the book as a whole and the arguments of the leading scholars they've gather together for this project. They begin to make the case that Congress is overwhelmed, define "congressional capacity", lay the groundwork for why Congress...

...This chapter provides a new analytical framework to assess congressional capacity. The framework is based on two institutional tradeoffs: organizational structure (centralization vs. decentralization) and resource allocation (simplicity vs. complexity). The interaction of these factors generates...

... agencies precisely because it needed assistance in various aspects of its work. Legislative branch support agencies, therefore, have a key role in augmenting congressional capacity, and are of real aid to legislators and their staff. Yet, ironically, they occupy uneasy positions in the American system...

... in Congress “regular order” “textbook Congress ” budget process Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 congressional capacity appropriations subcommittees Fenno Richard White Joseph Clinton administration and “Republican Revolution ” committee chairs committees committee system...

... policy areas, and that the clusters of issues that have seen the most consistent changes to committee information processing do not fall along familiar partisan divides. The findings highlight the importance of congressional capacity for both policymaking and representation and the need to account...

... authorizations reveal important information about Congress’s capacity in a way not examined by previous research. authorization gridlock partisanship in Congress congressional capacity legislative productivity Mayhew David catalog of historic statutes public law United States Code Barrett Andrew Binder...

... congressional capacity regular order legislative procedure unorthodox lawmaking bipartisanship Congress The erosion of decentralized and committee-led legislative processes is often blamed for declines in the lawmaking capacity of the United States Congress. Under this diagnosis, many scholars...

... on the Modernization of Congress Congress congressional capacity legislative procedure congressional committees legislative organization legislative rules political reform As Woodrow Wilson observed more than a century ago, Congress is “subject to constant subtle modifications” ( Wilson [1885] 1981 , 19...

... no longer has the capacity to govern as it once did. The volume explores the state of congressional capacity, or the human capital and other resources that Congress has available to perform its role in resolving public problems by legislating, budgeting, holding hearings, conducting oversight, and serving...

...This chapter provides an overview of the decline of a set of correlates of congressional capacity, or observable features of the institution that should be associated with its ability to function: personnel, financial resources, and expertise and information. These correlates can and do take both...

...Congressional staff play many roles in supporting the work of the US Congress, from opening constituent mail to drafting laws to conducting oversight. They are an essential component of congressional capacity. This chapter provides a long overdue close look at congressional staff, paying particular...

... process. As a result, some staff are more likely to take cues from party leaders, lobbyists, or the executive branch instead of relying on their own assessment of the situation. Drawing on new data from the Congressional Capacity Survey, this chapter evaluates a number of common preconceptions about...

... McConnell Mitch “nuclear option ” Cornyn John Arendt Hannah Gross Bertram congressional capacity senate polarization partisanship gridlock legislative procedure Congress Congress is broken. According to the conventional wisdom, the reason why is because its members are unable to reach agreement...

... of Representatives Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress congressional capacity legislative effectiveness committee chairs staff experience seniority staff salaries Congress expertise Legislative staff are integral to the functioning of the United States Congress. In each legislator’s district...

... the congressional history of debates over staffing. Second, it examines the viability of “running against Congress” by running against congressional staff. We conclude the chapter with an examination of the practical politics of reform. congressional capacity congressional staff Dirksen Everett executive branch...