Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process

by Oleszek, Walter

• ISBN13: 9781604266139
• ISBN10: 1604266139
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-30
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

The definitive work on how congressional rules, procedures, and traditions affect the course and content of legislation, the fundamentals of lawmaking are made clear in Oleszeks straight talking, informative book.

Updates to this new edition spotlight the use of innovative procedural devices by both parties to achieve their goals, a reassessment of the role of conference committees in reconciling bicameral differences, and heightened use of old and new oversight mechanisms to check and balance executive actions and activities.

Table of Contents

About the Author	p. vi
Tables, Figures, and Boxes	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Congress and Lawmaking	p. 1
The Constitutional Context	p. 3
Functions of Rules and Procedures	p. 7
Rules and Policymaking in Congress	p. 12
Congressional Decision Making	p. 19
The House and Senate Compared	p. 26
Pressures on Members	p. 34
The Congressional Budget Process	p. 46
Authorization-Appropriations Process	p. 48
Prelude to Budget Reform	p. 67
Evolution of the Budget Process	p. 82
The Challenge Ahead	p. 85
Preliminary Legislative Action	p. 93
Categories of Legislation	p. 94
Bill Referral Procedure	p. 97
Consideration in Committee	p. 107
The Committee Chair's Role	p. 108
Committee Hearings	p. 111
The Markup	p. 117
Committee Markup Procedures	p. 119
The Report	p. 123
Bypassing Committees	p. 127
Scheduling Legislation in the House	p. 132
The House Legislative Calendars	p. 134
Minor and Noncontroversial Measures	p. 135
Privileged Legislation	p. 142
Major Legislation	p. 143
Promises of Openness by the Majority Party	p. 162
Legislation Blocked in Committee	p. 165
Final Scheduling Steps	p. 169
House Floor Procedure	p. 176
Adoption of the Rule	p. 178
Committee of the Whole	p. 180
General Debate	p. 182
The Amending Process	p. 191
Voting	p. 202
Final Procedural Steps	p. 206
Scheduling Legislation in the Senate	p. 215
Noncontroversial Bills	p. 226
Major Legislation	p. 228
Unanimous Consent Agreements	p. 232
The Track System	p. 242
Scheduling Procedures Compared	p. 243
Senate Floor Procedure	p. 248
Legislative and Calendar Days	p. 250
Daily Order of Business	p. 251
Debate in the Modern Senate	p. 252
Bills Considered by Unanimous Consent	p. 256
The Amending Process	p. 258
Bills without Unanimous Consent	p. 271
Procedures to Circumvent Committees	p. 283
Resolving House-Senate Differences	p. 294
Obscurity of the Process	p. 294
Agreement without a Conference	p. 296
Preconference Considerations	p. 302
Conference Committee Process	p. 303
Presidential Approval or Veto	p. 326
Legislative Oversight	p. 334
Oversight: An Overview	p. 335
Techniques of Oversight	p. 340
Impeachment	p. 354
Oversight Trends and Incentives	p. 355
Lack of Consensus on Oversight	p. 357
A Dynamic Process	p. 366
Glossary of Congressional Terms	p. 383
Selected Bibliography	p. 397
Internet Sources	p. 403
Index	p. 405
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