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The floor in Congressional life / Andrew J. Taylor.
LIBRA KF4937 .T39 2012
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Taylor, Andrew J., 1966-
- Series:
- Legislative politics & policy making
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- United States. Congress--Rules and practice.
- United States.
- United States. Congress.
- Legislation--United States.
- Legislation.
- Parliamentary practice--United States.
- Parliamentary practice.
- Physical Description:
- x, 254 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2012]
- Summary:
- The House and the Senate floors are the only legislative forums where all members of the U.S. Congress participate and each has a vote. Andrew J. Taylor explores why floor power and floor rights in the House are more restricted than in the Senate and how these restrictions affect the legislative process. After tracing the historical development of floor rules, Taylor assesses how well they facilitate a democratic legislative process--that is, how well they facilitate deliberation, transparency, and widespread participation. Taylor not only compares floor proceedings between the Senate and the House in recent decades; he also compares recent congressional proceedings with antebellum proceedings. This unique, systematic analysis reveals that the Senate is generally more democratic than the House--a somewhat surprising result, given that the House is usually considered the more representative and responsive of the two. Taylor concludes with recommendations for practical reforms designed to make floor debates more robust and foster representative democracy.
- Contents:
- Introduction: the House and Senate floors
- The floor and the legislative process: theoretical underpinnings
- Developing procedural character: a quantitative analytical history of House and Senate floor power and rights
- The restrictive House and natural Senate: the story of two floors
- The quality of floor proceedings I: concepts, measures, and data
- The quality of floor proceedings II: analysis
- Conclusion: a future for the floor.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9780472118090
- 0472118099
- 9780472028184
- 0472028189
- OCLC:
- 751922165
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