Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process

by Oleszek, Walter J.

• ISBN13: 9781568024486
• ISBN10: 1568024487
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

In this accessible and popular book, veteran Hill observer Walter J. Oleszek explains how the contemporary Congress makes laws and how its rules and procedures shape domestic and foreign policy. A wealth of real-life examples brings the book to life and help readers make sense of the complicated business of lawmaking.

Among the topics that receive new or expanded coverage in this thoroughly revised edition are: the shift from the politics of deficit to the politics of surplus; innovations in Senate floor procedures and the use of new rules in the House; new developments in the ways that chambers resolve their differences; and new trends in legislative oversight.

Author Biography

Walter J. Oleszek is a senior specialist in American national government at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress

Table of Contents

Tables, Figures, and Boxes	xi
Preface	xv
Congress and Lawmaking	1	(40)
The Constitutional Context	2	(3)
Functions of Rules and Procedures	5	(5)
Rules and Policy Making in Congress	10	(7)
Congressional Decision Making	17	(6)
The House and Senate Compared	23	(7)
Pressures on Members	30	(11)
The Congressional Budget Process	41	(34)
Overview	41	(2)
Authorization-Appropriations Process	43	(13)
Prelude to Budget Reform	56	(1)
The 1974 Budget Act	56	(10)
Evolution of the Budget Process	66	(3)
The Surplus Era	69	(6)
Preliminary Legislative Action	75	(34)
Categories of Legislation	77	(2)
Bill Referral Procedure	79	(7)
Consideration in Committee	86	(3)
The Committee Chairman's Role	89	(2)
Hearings	91	(4)
The Markup	95	(6)
The Report	101	(2)
Bypassing Committees	103	(6)
Scheduling Legislation in the House	109	(39)
The House Legislative Calendars	110	(1)
Minor and Noncontroversial Bills	110	(7)
Privileged Legislation	117	(1)
Major Legislation	118	(20)
Legislation Blocked in Committee	138	(4)
Final Scheduling Steps	142	(6)
Hourse Floor Procedure	148	(33)
Adoption of the Rule	150	(1)
Committee of the Whole	151	(2)
General Debate	153	(5)
The Amending Process	158	(11)
Voting	169	(4)
Final Procedural Steps	173	(8)
Scheduling Legislation in the Senate	181	(26)
Flexible Scheduling System	181	(6)
Noncontroversial Bills	187	(4)
Major Legislation	191	(3)
Unanimous Consent Agreements	194	(8)
The Track System	202	(1)
Scheduling Procedures Compared	203	(4)
Senate Floor Procedure	207	(38)
Legislative and Calendar Days	209	(1)
Daily Order of Business	210	(1)
Debate in the Modern Senate	211	(4)
Bills Considered by Unanimous Consent	215	(2)
The Amending Process	217	(10)
Bills Without Unanimous Consent	227	(9)
Procedures to Circumvent Committees	236	(9)
Resolving House-Senate Differences	245	(29)
Obscurity of the Process	245	(2)
Agreement Without a Conference	247	(1)
Preconference Considerations	248	(2)
Conference Committee Process	250	(18)
Presidential Approval or Veto	268	(6)
Legislative Oversight	274	(24)
Techniques of Oversight	278	(11)
Oversight Trends	289	(2)
Lack of Consensus on Oversight	291	(7)
A Dynamic Process	298	(11)
Glossary of Congressional Terms	309	(14)
Selected Bibliography	323	(4)
Selected Internet Sources	327	(2)
Index	329