Colin Achilles – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Understanding the Policy Priorities of Republican Women in the US House of Representatives

Understanding the Policy Priorities of Republican Women in the US House of Representatives Wednesday, March 19, 2025In this published paper in Politics & Gender, Professor Michele Swers of Georgetown University and Associate Professor (and CEL Faculty Affiliate) Danielle Thomsen of the University of California, Irvine take a deep dive into the sponsorship and cosponsorship activity of Republicans in the US House of Representatives from 1993–2014 to examine how ideology and gender influence the policy priorities of Republican legislators on issues associated with women, as well as on the party-owned issue…

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March 19, 2025

Blog / Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis

Niskanen Center: Congress at a Crossroads

Niskanen Center: Congress at a Crossroads Monday, March 10The Niskanen Center has released a series of essays for their March issue of Hypertext about the culture of the legislative body and political changes being advanced by the Trump administration, all of which pose important discussions related to effective lawmaking. As stated by David Dagan, Niskanen’s Director of Editorial and Academic Affairs:“Congress faces this moment rife with contradictions. It is outwardly deeply partisan, but below the surface, still capable of a great deal of bipartisan legislation. Authority is highly centralized with party…

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March 10, 2025

About the CEL / Center Affiliates

Meet our Program Director for State Legislatures: Paige Higginson-Rollins

Meet our Program Director for State Legislatures: Paige Higginson-Rollins The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is pleased to officially introduce Paige Higginson-Rollins as our new Program Director for State Legislatures. In this role, she is dedicated to empowering state legislatures, lawmakers, and stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of legislative institutions.Prior to joining the CEL, Paige worked on public health communications and research initiatives in Michigan and Kentucky. In 2013, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky in international relations and economics and earned her master’s degree in public health in 2016.…

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February 24, 2025

About the CEL / Board of Advisors

Meet our new Advisory Board Member: Shuwanza Goff

Meet our new Advisory Board Member: Shuwanza Goff The Center for Effective Lawmaking is excited to welcome Shuwanza Goff to our Board of Advisors.Ms. Goff has distinguished herself as a leader in national politics, with an accomplished career spanning over 15 years. Beginning her career on Capitol Hill in 2008 in the Office of former House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), she demonstrated exceptional leadership capabilities across multiple roles in Rep. Hoyer's office before making history in 2019 as the first African American woman to serve as Floor Director for the House…

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February 18, 2025

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Legislative Effectiveness in the American States (Published Paper)

Legislative Effectiveness in the American States (Published Paper) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is excited to announce that our "Legislative Effectiveness in the American States" paper has been published by the American Political Science Review. This paper, written by CEL Co-Directors Craig Volden (UVA Frank Batten School) and Alan Wiseman (Vanderbilt University), and research consultant Peter Bucchianeri, serves as the basis of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) used to analyze state legislators across 97 legislative chambers over recent decades, based on the number of bills that they sponsor,…

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February 12, 2025

Events / Legislative Anaylsis

CEL Presentation to Charlottesville NOW

CEL Presentation to Charlottesville NOW Thursday, February 6, 2025 On Tuesday, February 4, Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Co-Director and UVA Frank Batten School Professor Craig Volden gave a presentation to the Charlottesville chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). The organization engages in the fight for women's rights, and works with its members and partners with other organizations to push for social change. Professor Volden's presentation, entitled “The Keys to Effective Lawmaking in Congress and the Virginia General Assembly,” explained the mission of the CEL, the construction of our Legislative…

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February 6, 2025

Conference / Events / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research / State Legislatures

CEL at the Legislative Leadership Program

CEL at the Legislative Leadership Program Monday, February 3, 2025Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Co-Director Alan Wiseman recently presented at Michigan State University’s Legislative Leadership Program (LLP). Residing under the Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research College of Social Science (IPPSR) since its 1994 inception, the LLP invites new members of Michigan’s House of Representatives and Senate to engage in interactive small-group sessions with university faculty in the brief time between their election and their first legislative sessions. The program is built upon a series of…

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January 31, 2025

Legislative Anaylsis

Five Lessons for Lawmakers from Trump I

Five Lessons for Lawmakers from Trump I Center for Effective Lawmaking Co-Directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman have published a commentary for the Niskanen Center that examines what lawmakers can expect with the new Trump administration and unified Republican control of government based on the lessons learned from the previous Trump term. This includes:both Republican and Democratic ideas will become law;members of each party can take the lead on their priority issues;the prioritization of lawmaking by Thune and Johnson offers new opportunities;congressional lawmaking is increasingly behind-the-scenes and via omnibus legislation;…

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January 23, 2025

About the CEL

2024: A Year in Review

2024: A Year in Review As 2024 draws to a close, we at the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) wanted to take the time to reflect on our accomplishments this year. This included but was not limited to the following:Announcing the grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation for our State Legislative Effectiveness Initiative.Announcing the recipients of our 2024-2025 small grant awards.Introducing new members of our Center Affiliate teams, including Andrew Ballard, Jaclyn Kaslovsky, Michael Kistner, Emily Cottle Ommundsen, and Arjun Vishwanath.Introducing two new post-doctoral fellows for the 2024-2025 Academic Year: Amy Meli and Connor Halloran Phillips.Introducing new members…

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December 19, 2024

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Deployed to the Hill: Military Experience and Legislative Behavior in Congress

Deployed to the Hill: Military Experience and Legislative Behavior in Congress Military service is often touted as an important benefit for legislating in Congress. With fewer military veterans serving in Congress, candidates with military experience, along with their supporters, argue that electing more veterans could help reduce dysfunction and gridlock. They claim that military values, such as duty and teamwork, translate into differences in legislative behavior. But are veteran lawmakers more effective than those without military experience? Are they more bipartisan?In this paper published in Political Research Quarterly and based on a…

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December 16, 2024