Mark J. Oleszek & Elizabeth E. Rybicki 
Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process [EPUB ebook] 

‘The book does an outstanding job in covering all the necessary details on congressional rules and procedures, most of which are not easy to understand. […] It has been and will remain to be a must-read for all the congressional politics students and Washington insiders.’



– Hong Min Park
, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee




Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process examines the entire arc of the legislative process—from a bill’s introduction, to its signature into law, to congressional review of the law’s administrative implementation—and the many procedural pitfalls that exist along the way. Author Walter J. Oleszek and co-authors Mark Oleszek, Elizabeth Rybicki, and Bill Heniff, Jr. do not shy away from the complexity of the topic, yet they ensure that the operations of Congress are understandable to students and practitioners alike. Through an array of interesting examples, case studies, and the authors’ personal anecdotes, this definitive work delivers timely explanation and analysis of the nation’s premier lawmaking institution.

Tabella dei contenuti

Preface

About the Authors

Chapter 1: Congress and Lawmaking

The Constitutional Context

Functions of Rules and Procedures

Rules and Policymaking in Congress

Congressional Decision Making

The House and Senate Compared

Pressures on Members

Chapter 2: The Congressional Budget Process

Authorization–Appropriations Process

Establishing a Congressional Budget Process

Evolution of Statutory Budget Procedures

Case Study: The Government Shutdown of 2013

Chapter 3: Preliminary Legislative Action

Categories of Legislation

Bill Referral Procedure

Consideration in Committee

The Committee Chair’s Role

Committee Hearings

The Markup

Committee Markup Procedures

The Report

Bypassing Committees

Chapter 4: Scheduling Legislation in the House

The House Legislative Calendars

Minor and Noncontroversial Measures

Privileged Legislation

Major Legislation

Promises of Openness by the Majority Party

Legislation Blocked in Committee

Final Scheduling Steps

Chapter 5: House Floor Procedure

Debate

Voting

Consideration of Major Legislation

Final Procedural Steps

Opposition Tactics

Chapter 6: Scheduling Legislation in the Senate

Legislative and Calendar Days

Calendars and Rule XIV

Motion to Proceed to Consider a Bill

Bills Taken Up by Unanimous Consent

Bills Privileged for Consideration

Clearance

Holds

Executive Businesses

Major Scheduling Considerations

Chapter 7: Senate Floor Procedure

Debate and the Filibuster

Cloture

The Amending Process

Principle of Precedence and the Amendment Trees

Unanimous Consent Agreements and the Amending Process

Strategic Uses of Amendments

Quorum and Voting Procedures

Procedural Change in the Senate

Chapter 8: Resolving House–Senate Differences

Procedural Methods for Reaching Agreement

Amendment Exchange Between the Chambers

Preconference Considerations

Conference Committee Process

Presidential Approval or Veto

Case Study: A Procedural Sketch: The Surface Transportation Conference, 2012

Chapter 9: Legislative Oversight

Oversight: An Overview

Techniques of Oversight

Impeachment

Oversight Trends and Incentives

Lack of Consensus on Oversight

Chapter 10: A Dynamic Process

Observations About Lawmaking

Centralization of Authority in the Speakership

Congress and the Information Age

Resurgence of Sharp Partisanship

Glossary of Selected Congressional Terms

Selected Bibliography

Selected Internet Sources

Index

Circa l’autore

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 many major House and Senate congressional reorganization efforts 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 former adjunct faculty member at American University, Oleszek is a frequent lecturer to various academic, governmental, and business groups. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, 11th ed. (2020), and Congress Under Fire: Reform Politics and the Republican Majority, with C. Lawrence Evans (1997).