The Counterintuitive Congress: Understanding Law-Making Dynamics

Congress consists of representatives from all over the country who don't know each other, so how do they get anything done?

Institutions within Congress allow for laws to be made, but they also limit the number of laws that are passed.

Despite the large number of bills introduced, only a small percentage actually become laws.

🏛️ There are three theoretical models that explain how Congress overcomes collective action problems.

🤝 Political parties play a crucial role in uniting members of Congress and helping them coordinate and overcome unstable coalitions.

🎉 Majority party leaders in Congress prioritize legislation that benefits their party and avoids splitting it or harming its reputation.

🔑 Members of Congress use committees to gather information and make informed decisions.

🏢 Committees consist of members with expertise in specific areas of policy.

💼 Members of Congress engage in logrolling, trading benefits to support each other's bills.

🏛️ The Speaker of the House sets the agenda for the house majority, addressing issues of interest.

🔍 Party leaders help prevent bills that would divide the majority party.

📋 The House majority leader manages committees, while the majority whip ensures party discipline.

🤝 Party unity has increased in both the House and Senate since the 1970s, leading to more party-line voting.

📉 The increase in party-line voting may contribute to fewer laws being introduced over time.

📊 The collaboration and bipartisan efforts in Congress have decreased over the years.

🏛️ Committees play a crucial role in the legislative process in Congress.

✅ Conference committees merge House and Senate bills to pass a single unified bill.

🚫 Committees have the power to stop bills from progressing if they are not favorable towards them.

👥 The majority party holds the chair positions in committees, while the minority party holds the ranking member positions.

📝 Members of Congress can amend or mark up bills during the committee review process.

📝 The bill in Congress can become longer and take on a different form due to provisions added by committees.

🔒 Congress controls the bureaucracy through legislative intent, which limits the discretion of bureaucratic agencies.

🔥 Ex post oversight is when members of Congress rely on constituents and interest groups to alert them of problems with the bureaucracy.

📝 Earmark spending in Congress has increased, but it can lead to underfunding of national goods.

🔀 Earmarks are used to gain support from reluctant members of Congress for party proposals.

🏢 Members of Congress may resist closing military bases to protect their earmarks and benefits.