Congressional Procedures and the Policy

In this accessible and popular book, veteran Hill observer Walter J. Oleszek explains how the contemporary Congress makes laws and how its rules and procedures shape domestic and foreign policy. A wealth of real-life examples brings the book to life and help readers make sense of the complicated business of lawmaking.

Among the topics that receive new or expanded coverage in this thoroughly revised edition are: the shift from the politics of deficit to the politics of surplus; innovations in Senate floor procedures and the use of new rules in the House; new developments in the ways that chambers resolve their differences; and new trends in legislative oversight.

Walter J. Oleszek is a senior specialist in American national government at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress

Tables, Figures, and Boxes

xi

Preface

xv

Congress and Lawmaking

1

(40)

The Constitutional Context

2

(3)

Functions of Rules and Procedures

5

(5)

Rules and Policy Making in Congress

10

(7)

Congressional Decision Making

17

(6)

The House and Senate Compared

23

(7)

Pressures on Members

30

(11)

The Congressional Budget Process

41

(34)

Overview

41

(2)

Authorization-Appropriations Process

43

(13)

Prelude to Budget Reform

56

(1)

The 1974 Budget Act

56

(10)

Evolution of the Budget Process

66

(3)

The Surplus Era

69

(6)

Preliminary Legislative Action

75

(34)

Categories of Legislation

77

(2)

Bill Referral Procedure

79

(7)

Consideration in Committee

86

(3)

The Committee Chairman's Role

89

(2)

Hearings

91

(4)

The Markup

95

(6)

The Report

101

(2)

Bypassing Committees

103

(6)

Scheduling Legislation in the House

109

(39)

The House Legislative Calendars

110

(1)

Minor and Noncontroversial Bills

110

(7)

Privileged Legislation

117

(1)

Major Legislation

118

(20)

Legislation Blocked in Committee

138

(4)

Final Scheduling Steps

142

(6)

Hourse Floor Procedure

148

(33)

Adoption of the Rule

150

(1)

Committee of the Whole

151

(2)

General Debate

153

(5)

The Amending Process

158

(11)

Voting

169

(4)

Final Procedural Steps

173

(8)

Scheduling Legislation in the Senate

181

(26)

Flexible Scheduling System

181

(6)

Noncontroversial Bills

187

(4)

Major Legislation

191

(3)

Unanimous Consent Agreements

194

(8)

The Track System

202

(1)

Scheduling Procedures Compared

203

(4)

Senate Floor Procedure

207

(38)

Legislative and Calendar Days

209

(1)

Daily Order of Business

210

(1)

Debate in the Modern Senate

211

(4)

Bills Considered by Unanimous Consent

215

(2)

The Amending Process

217

(10)

Bills Without Unanimous Consent

227

(9)

Procedures to Circumvent Committees

236

(9)

Resolving House-Senate Differences

245

(29)

Obscurity of the Process

245

(2)

Agreement Without a Conference

247

(1)

Preconference Considerations

248

(2)

Conference Committee Process

250

(18)

Presidential Approval or Veto

268

(6)

Legislative Oversight

274

(24)

Techniques of Oversight

278

(11)

Oversight Trends

289

(2)

Lack of Consensus on Oversight

291

(7)

A Dynamic Process

298

(11)

Glossary of Congressional Terms

309

(14)

Selected Bibliography

323

(4)

Selected Internet Sources

327

(2)

Index

329

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Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials