Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process

Walter J Oleszek

ISBN 10: 0872893030 / ISBN 13: 9780872893030

Published by SAGE Publications Inc, 2007

About this Item

Oleszek's new edition of his definitive work focuses on the significant procedural changes on Capitol Hill that are shaping policymaking in this new era of unified government. With dozens of lively illustrations, charts, and documents, Oleszek examines the use of innovative procedural devices by both the majority and minority parties to achieve their political goals and offers a reassessment of the role of conference committees in reconciling bicameral differences. Updates to this new eighth edition include examinations of: new congressional earmark reforms; the disappearance of open rules in the House; the surge in use of suspension of the rules in the House; the 60-vote threshold for enactment of amendments and bills in the Senate; the increase in filling the amendment tree in the Senate; and the heightened use of old and new oversight mechanisms to check and balance executive actions and activities.

Seller Inventory # CIN0872893030G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0872893030
• ISBN 13: 9780872893030
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

The definitive work on how congressional rules, procedures, and traditions affect the course and content of legislation, this seventh edition reflects both thorough updating and further refinement. In the House and the Senate, and from committee room to the floor, the fundamentals of lawmaking are made clear in Walter Oleszek's straight talking, informative book on Congress. With dozens of lively illustrations, charts, and extracts from real documents, Oleszek spotlights both "regular order" and unconventional procedures while explaining the role of congressional leadership, the use of strategic tactics, and complicated parliamentary processes. Readers will appreciate Oleszek's insight on the ever-sophisticated use of procedures--such as "filling the tree"--to achieve party and policy objectives in a time of sharper partisanship.

Updates include:

• changes in congressional budgeting, such as the return of fiscal deficits, the clash between discretionary spending and entitlements, and the drive to curb the explosion in earmarks
• the "nuclear option" controversy over filibusters
• the wider use of technology in the lawmaking process

About the Author

Walter J. Oleszek is a senior specialist in the legislative process at the Congressional Research Service. He has served as either a full-time professional staff aide or consultant to every major House and Senate congressional reorganization effort beginning with the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. In 1993, he served as Policy Director of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress. A long-time adjunct faculty member at The American University, Oleszek is a frequent lecturer before various academic, governmental and business groups. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Congress and Its Members, 10th ed. (2006),with Roger H. Davidson, and Congress Under Fire: Reform Politics and the Republican Majority (1997), with C. Lawrence Evans.