Congress and the politics of problem solving / E. Scott Adler, John D. Wilkerson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Adler, E. Scott, author.

Wilkerson, John D., 1939- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Congress.

United States.

Decision making--Political aspects--United States.

Decision making.

Legislation--Political aspects--United States.

Legislation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 246 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Congress & the Politics of Problem Solving

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How do issues end up on the agenda? Why do lawmakers routinely invest in program oversight and broad policy development? What considerations drive legislative policy change? For many, Congress is an institution consumed by partisan bickering and gridlock. Yet the institution's long history of addressing significant societal problems - even in recent years - seems to contradict this view. Congress and the Politics of Problem Solving argues that the willingness of many voters to hold elected officials accountable for societal conditions is central to appreciating why Congress responds to problems despite the many reasons mustered for why it cannot. The authors show that, across decades of policy making, problem-solving motivations explain why bipartisanship is a common pattern of congressional behavior and offer the best explanation for legislative issue attention and policy change.

Contents:

1. Congress and the politics of problem solving

2. Problem-focused voters and congressional accountability

3. Congressional approval and incumbent accountability

4. Problem-solving constraints and legislative institutions

5. Agenda scarcity, problem solving, and temporary legislation

6. Rethinking committee reform

7. Agenda setting in a problem-solving legislature

8. Problem solving and policy focal points

9. Problem solving and the dynamics of policy change

10. Problem solving and American politics.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-61065-1

1-107-23599-5

1-139-61251-4

1-139-61623-4

1-139-15084-7

1-107-25455-8

1-139-62553-5

1-299-27644-X

1-139-62181-5

OCLC:

828928461