Party and Procedure in the United States CongressJacob R. Straus Understanding how Congressional political parties utilize floor procedure to advance a legislative agenda is fundamental to understanding how Congress operates. This book offers students and researchers an in-depth understanding of the procedural tools available to congressional leaders and committee chairs and how those tools are implemented in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and during negotiations between the chambers. Divided into four sections (Leadership, House of Representatives, Senate, and Legislative Reconciliation between the Chambers), the contributors present relevant examples of procedure throughout the legislative process. While other volumes provide the party or the procedural perspective, this book combines these two features to create a robust analysis on the role that party can play in making procedural decisions. Additionally, the contributors provide an opportunity to take a holistic look at Congress and understand the changing dynamics of congressional power and its implementation over time. A concluding chapter, "Legislative Sausage-Making: Health Care Reform in the 111th Congress," summarizes the book's major themes through an examination of this highly controversial legislative battle. |
Contents
Chapter 1 Navigating Congress | 1 |
Section I LEADERSHIP | 13 |
A Resource Perspective | 15 |
Section II HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 33 |
Understanding Innovation in House Practice | 35 |
A Case Study on Party Politics and the House Floor | 61 |
Chapter 5 Minority Party Strategies and the Evolution of the Motion to Recommit in the US House | 85 |
The Rise and Impact of Roll Call Votes in the Age of Electronic Voting | 101 |
Party and Procedure in the Modern United States Senate | 139 |
Exploring the Procedural Toolkit of the Majority Party in the United States Senate | 173 |
The Senates Last Best Hope | 195 |
Chapter 11 Filibustering and Partisanship in the Modern Senate | 217 |
Section IV LEGISLATIVE RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE CHAMBERS | 229 |
Party Leaders and PostPassage Procedural Choice | 231 |
Health Care Reform in the 111th Congress | 253 |
287 | |
Chapter 7 The Caucus Process as a Catalyst for Democracy | 125 |
Section III SENATE | 137 |
About the Contributors | 297 |
Other editions - View all
Party and Procedure in the United States Congress Jacob R. Straus,Matthew E. Glassman Limited preview - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
103rd Congress 110th Congress 97th Congress adopted agenda alternative amendment process amendments offered appropriations bills bipartisan budget resolution budgetary points Caucus chamber cloture votes conference Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Record debate Democrats electronic voting filibuster fiscal H.Res health care reform health reform House and Senate House of Representatives House rules increase institutional interview with Senate issues Journal of Political king-of-the-hill rules legislative process limitation amendments majoritarian majority and minority majority party markup measures ment motion to recommit motions to table MTTs NDAA negotiations number of roll Obama Office Oleszek partisan party leaders party leadership party’s passed pattern of decision-making percent points of order polarization Political Science President recorded votes Republicans Rohde roll call votes Rules Committee SASC Senate floor Senate staffer Senate’s Speaker Pelosi special rules staff strategic structured consent Subcommittee tion U.S. Congress U.S. House U.S. Senate unanimous consent agreements Washington