Party and Procedure in the United States Congress

Front Cover
Jacob R. Straus
Rowman & Littlefield, 2012 - Law - 300 pages
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
Index
287

Chapter 7 The Caucus Process as a Catalyst for Democracy
125
Section III SENATE
137
About the Contributors
297
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2012)

Jacob R. Straus is an analyst with the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress. His research focuses on Congress, lobbying and ethics, public policy and American political development.