Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process

by Oleszek, Walter J.

• ISBN13: 9780871877048
• ISBN10: 087187704X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-08-01
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

Veteran Hill observer Walter J. Oleszek discusses the organizational and political environment of the contemporary Congress and how its rules shape domestic and foreign policy. This book is the definitive work on congressional lawmaking today, providing a detailed look into the interplay of rules, procedures, precedents, and strategies, and focusing on the changes evolving from the 104th Congress.

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