UID:
edocfu_9960117376002883
Format:
1 online resource (xiv, 340 pages) :
,
digital, PDF file(s).
ISBN:
1-316-48211-1
,
1-316-48512-9
,
1-316-41111-7
Content:
Congress is frequently said to be 'broken', 'dysfunctional', and 'weak', but how does the contemporary Congress really work? Does Congress have the capacity to solve major policy problems? Can it check an aggrandizing executive, oversee a powerful Federal Reserve, and represent the American people? Can Congress cope with vast changes in the American political economy, including rising income inequality? Congress and Policy Making in the 21st Century takes a fresh look at the performance of Congress in the domestic arena, focusing on issues such as immigration, health care, and the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. With original contributions from leading scholars, this important volume examines how Congress tackles - and fails to tackle - key policy challenges in an era of growing social diversity and ideological polarization. Rich in analysis and illuminating detail, the book reveals the full complexity of the institution at work.
Note:
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Feb 2016).
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Cover -- Half-title -- Title page -- Copyright information -- Table of contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgments -- 1 The Evolving Textbook Congress: Polarization and Policy Making on Capitol Hill in the 21st Century -- The Essays -- The Evolving ''Textbook Congress'' -- Notes -- References -- Part I Congressional Policy Making in a Polarized Age -- 2 Entrepreneurial Politics, Policy Gridlock, and Legislative Effectiveness -- Entrepreneurial Politics -- Identifying Policy Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Politics -- Measuring Policy Gridlock -- Entrepreneurial Politics and Policy Gridlock over Time -- Do Policy Entrepreneurs Help Overcome Gridlock? -- Henry Waxman as Health Policy Entrepreneur -- Phil Crane as Trade Policy Entrepreneur -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 3 Partisan Polarization and Congressional Policy Making -- Making Nonincremental Policy Change in a Polarized Era -- Must-Pass Legislation under Conditions of Divided Control -- Passing Crisis-Induced Must-Pass Legislation -- Passing Must-Pass Legislation with a Republican House -- Entrepreneurs, Parties, and Policy Change -- Polarization and Policy -- References -- Part II Congress and Society -- 4 Making a Rainbow Military: Parliamentary Skill and the Repeal of ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' -- Why DADT Repeal Is Noteworthy for Congress Scholars -- Overview of the Analysis -- Three Streams Toward the Repeal Window -- Obama Reconfigures the Policy Window -- Congressional Response: Formal Delegation to the Pentagon -- Hitching a Ride on the NDAA -- If Skill Matters, So Does Miscalculation -- Action-Forcing Failure -- The Top Brass Gets Drawn In -- All the Pieces Suddenly Fall Into Place -- Lessons of DADT Repeal -- Notes -- References -- 5 Who Votes for Inequality? -- Six Reasons a Member of Congress Might Not Care about Inequality.
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1. Many Americans don't realize how unequal the United States is, or they don't care -- 2. The rich are more likely to participate in public affairs -- 3. The rich are better able to advance their goals with organizations and lobbyists -- 4. Law makers depend on wealthy campaign donors to finance their elections -- 5. The parties are polarized, and Republicans oppose policies that would reduce inequality -- 6. Most law makers are from the top economic strata themselves -- Who Supports Inequality? -- The Politics of Inequality in Congress -- What Would It Take to Make Congress Care about Inequality? -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Part III Congress and Economic Policy -- 6 Congress Makes Tax Policy: Democrats and Republicans at Two Critical Junctures -- The Bush-Era Tax Cuts -- Was It Surprising that Obama and His Party Caved? -- The Parties at Critical Tax Junctures -- Explaining Divergent Party Capacity on Tax Politics -- Notes -- Works Cited -- 7 The Decline of Regular Order in Appropriations: Does It Matter? -- Introduction -- Some Hypotheses -- Budget Proposals -- The Budget Resolution -- Appropriation Bills -- Appropriation Delays -- The Correlates of Appropriation Delay -- Preference Divergence -- Budgetary Enforcement Rules -- Fiscal and Economic Conditions -- The President -- Results -- Does It Matter? -- Delayed Appropriations, Deficits, and Spending -- Policy Uncertainty -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 8 Congress and the Federal Reserve: Independence and Accountability -- The Accountability-Independence Trade Off -- Lawmakers' Incentives to Reform the Fed -- Legislative Attention to the Fed, 1947-2014 -- Explaining Patterns in Congressional Attention -- Congress and the Fed when the Parties are Polarized -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- Part IV Congress and Domestic Policy Dilemmas.
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9 The 40 Trillion Question: Can Congress Control Health Care Spending? -- Barriers to Congressional Action -- A Brief History of Failure in Health Care Cost Control -- Congressional Action in Cost Control -- Lessons from Medicare -- The Affordable Care Act -- Delegated Health Policy: The Independent Payment Advisory Board -- Congress and the Future of Cost Control -- Notes -- References -- 10 The Demise of Immigration Reform: Policy-Making Barriers under Unified and Divided Government -- Introduction -- The Immigration Policy Gauntlet: Disorienting Conflicts and Strange Bedfellow Coalitions -- Immigration and American Politics: Four Ideological Traditions -- Problem Definition and Strange Bedfellow Coalitions -- Grand or Faustian Bargains? -- Mexican Braceros and Undocumented Aliens -- From Prolonged Gridlock to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 -- The Rise of a Partisan Gauntlet: Huddled Elites and Popular Mobilization -- The Demise of Kennedy-McCain: Fusing Immigration Restriction and the Conservative Right -- Thunder on the Left: Conservative Threats and Immigrant Political Agency -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 11 It's Hard to Get Mileage Out of Congress: Struggling Over CAFE Standards, 1973-2013 -- Issues that Suit Legislatures -- Enactment of CAFE Standards in 1975 -- Blocking Policy Change -- The Struggle over CAFE Standards, 1985-2006 -- A Breakthrough in 2007 -- Obama Sidesteps Congress -- A Broader Pattern? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Part V Reflections -- 12 Explaining Legislative Achievements -- Legislative Achievements -- Explaining Legislative Achievements -- Recent Policy Making -- Legislative Achievements Revisited -- Notes -- References -- Index.
,
English
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1-107-56555-3
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1-107-12638-X
Language:
English
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