Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking
The U.S. House of Representatives in the Postreform Era
Barbara Sinclair(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 26. April 1995
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-8018-4955-8 (ISBN)
Description
Although Congress has never been popular, it has in recent years been the subject of particularly relentless and bitter criticism: gridlock is the central problem plaguing American government, say many, and Congress is to blame. According to Barbara Sinclair, the contemporary political environment has made legislating extraordinarily difficult. Huge deficits and, until 1993, deep policy differences between the president and congressional majorities have complicated already difficult choices. In this context, Sinclair asks, how has House not only performed its legislative functions but also managed to enhance its role in the American political system? In Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking Sinclair traces the emergence during the 1980s House majority party leadership that is highly active and deeply involved in multiple aspects of legislative process, but one that leads by means of a participatory and inclusive style. Drawing on extensive interviews with House members, staffs, and informed observers, she describes the changing role of the leadership from the prereform period, through the immediate post reform years, to the present.
The reforms of the 1970s, Sinclair argues, combined with the constraints of the 1980s political environment to give effective leadership an importance in the legislative process unprecedented in the modem era. As a result, the book's focus on party leadership provides a vantage point for understanding the legislative process in the House and the major changes that process has undergone in the last several decades.
The reforms of the 1970s, Sinclair argues, combined with the constraints of the 1980s political environment to give effective leadership an importance in the legislative process unprecedented in the modem era. As a result, the book's focus on party leadership provides a vantage point for understanding the legislative process in the House and the major changes that process has undergone in the last several decades.
Reviews / Votes
"This book is a most remarkable undertaking. It represents a scholarly research effort that has stretched over nearly two decades. It has involved the getting and maintaining an unusual level of access to the workings of Democratic party leadership and yet an ability to remain sufficiently distant to develop the broader perspective. The end result is clearly a most important-if not the most important-book on party leadership and Congress."--Bruce I. Oppenheimer, 'American Political Science Review' "A superb combination of description and analysis that captures the Democratic-dominated House of the 1980's and early 1990's...Sinclair has provided up with both a summing up and a benchmark as we proceed to analyze the so-called Republican Revolution as it reverberates through the U.S. House. We are in her debt."--Burdett Loomis, 'Congress & The Presidency' "A classic study of the postreform house for all present and future students of Congress."--Joseph Cooper, 'Political Science Quarterly'More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
652 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-4955-8 (9780801849558)
DOI
10.56021/9780801849558
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Barbara Sinclair
Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking
The U.S. House of Representatives in the Postreform Era
Book
08/1998
Johns Hopkins University Press
€32.00
Article not available for order
Person
Barbara Sinclair is professor of political science at the University of California, Riverside.
Content
List of Tables
Preface, 1998
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. The Leadership Puzzle: An Introduction
Chapter 2. Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking: A Principal-Agent Approach
Chapter 3. The House and Its Leadership from the 1950s Through the 1970s
Chapter 4. The Emergence of Activist Leadership in the House of Representatives
Chapter 5. Leadership in a Changing Environment: Tasks, Resources, and Strategies
Chapter 6. Organization, Communication, and Accountability
Chapter 7. Information and Inclusion: The Whip System
Chapter 8. Structuring Choices: The Rules Committee
Chapter 9. Leaders, Committees, and the Prefloor Legislative Process
Chapter 10. Assembling Floor Majorities
Chapter 11. Setting the Agenda and Shaping Debate
Chapter 12. Does Activist Leadership Make a Difference? Legislative Success and the Lawmaking Process in the Postreform House
Afterword, 1998
References
Index
Preface, 1998
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. The Leadership Puzzle: An Introduction
Chapter 2. Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking: A Principal-Agent Approach
Chapter 3. The House and Its Leadership from the 1950s Through the 1970s
Chapter 4. The Emergence of Activist Leadership in the House of Representatives
Chapter 5. Leadership in a Changing Environment: Tasks, Resources, and Strategies
Chapter 6. Organization, Communication, and Accountability
Chapter 7. Information and Inclusion: The Whip System
Chapter 8. Structuring Choices: The Rules Committee
Chapter 9. Leaders, Committees, and the Prefloor Legislative Process
Chapter 10. Assembling Floor Majorities
Chapter 11. Setting the Agenda and Shaping Debate
Chapter 12. Does Activist Leadership Make a Difference? Legislative Success and the Lawmaking Process in the Postreform House
Afterword, 1998
References
Index