Colin Achilles – Page 4 – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen served as the U.S. representative for Florida’s 18th and 27th congressional districts from 1989 to 2019. She has been identified by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) with the distinction of being among the top ten most effective Republican lawmakers in the US. House of Representatives in the 110th, 111th, and 112th Congresses (2007 to 2013). She was also identified as the most effective lawmaker in advancing international affairs policy among both Republicans and Democrats in the 112th Congress (2011…

Comments Off

February 20, 2024

CEL Event: Effective Lawmaking in Virginia

Former Virginia House Minority Leader David Toscano and former Speaker Bill Howell (from left to right). (Photo by Ryan Strand, Batten School). CEL Event: Effective Lawmaking in Virginia On Monday, February 5, 2024, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), within the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, held a presentation titled “Effective Lawmaking in Virginia: Past, Present, and Future” as part of the school’s Batten Hour series. The panel discussion featured Bill Howell, former Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and David…

Comments Off

February 12, 2024

Video

The CEL on “Understanding Congress”

The CEL on "Understanding Congress" Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), was a recent guest on the podcast "Understanding Congress," hosted by Kevin Kosar, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). They discussed the topic of “What is legislative effectiveness?”, covering what the term means, how it is measured, and why it is an important area of research. We are pleased to have…

Comments Off

February 8, 2024

Center Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress

Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress Political scientists have emphasized the rightward ideological movement of congressional Republicans across recent decades, relative to a more limited leftward shift by Democrats. However, new research from Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman (of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, respectively), and CEL Graduate Affiliate Patrick Buhr (also of Vanderbilt) argue that this asymmetric polarization has not translated into an equally conservative shift in lawmaking. Drawing on data on the lawmaking effectiveness of Representatives and…

Comments Off

February 7, 2024

About the CEL

2023: A Year in Review

2023: A Year in Review As 2023 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:The release of our Legislative Effectiveness Scores for the 117th Congress.Announcing the recipients of our 2023-2024 small grant awards.Hiring our new Senior Program Associate, George Hadijski.Introducing new members of our Center Affiliate teams, including Christian Fong, Ju Yeon (Julia) Park, Andrew Pennock, Fred Gui, and Arjun Vishwanath.Hosting our 5th Annual Research…

Comments Off

December 20, 2023

About the CEL

Center for Effective Lawmaking 2022-2023 Annual Report

Center for Effective Lawmaking 2022-2023 Annual Report We are proud to present the Center for Effective Lawmaking Annual Report for 2022-2023. Here you will see highlights from the last academic year showcasing the accomplishments of the Center in promoting the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and U.S. legislative institutions, as well as our plans and goals for the future. These include but are not limited to:The release of our Legislative Effectiveness Scores for the 117th CongressAnnouncing the recipients of our 2022-2023 small…

Comments Off

October 30, 2023

Conversations with Lawmakers / Events

WATCH: Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy

WATCH: Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy On Friday, October 20, 2023, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) held a presentation titled “Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy” as part of our “Conversations with Effective Lawmakers” Series and the Karsh Institute’s “Democracy360” event, a three-day series that brought together thought leaders, journalists, policymakers, scholars, activists, artists, and students in Charlottesville, VA, to explore collectively how to shape a thriving democratic future. CEL co-directors, Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman, moderated a discussion panel featuring former U.S. House Representative Peter Roskam (R-IL)…

Comments Off

October 25, 2023

Board of Advisors

Tom Wickham: Understanding the U.S. House Speaker Situation

Tom Wickham: Understanding the U.S. House Speaker Situation 10/18/2023 UPDATE: This post, originally published on Friday, October 13, has been updated to reflect new developments, including yesterday’s speaker vote in the House. There is uncertainty concerning the status of the speakership of the United States House of Representatives. As such, the Center for Effective Lawmaking is taking the opportunity to present insights from Tom Wickham, Senior Vice President of state and local policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; he is also a Member of our Advisory Board. Previously, he was the…

Comments Off

October 13, 2023

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Pivots or Partisans?: Proposal-Making Strategy and Status Quo Selection in Congress

Pivots or Partisans? Proposal-Making Strategy and Status Quo Selection in Congress Lawmakers vary considerably in how effectively they advance their priorities through Congress. However, the actual proposal-writing strategies undergirding these differences have remained largely unexplored, due to measurement and methodological difficulties. These obstacles have included prohibitively small sample sizes, costly data requirements, and strong theoretical assumptions. In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, political scientists Jesse Crosson (CEL Faculty Affiliate), Alexander Furnas, and Geoffrey Lorenz (CEL Faculty Affiliate) address these obstacles and analyze the proposal strategies of effective…

Comments Off

September 27, 2023

Events

CEL Briefing with the Congress’s “Problem Solvers”

CEL Briefing with the Congress’s “Problem Solvers” The co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), Professors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman (of the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and Vanderbilt University Department of Political Science, respectively), visited the U.S. Capitol Building this week to conduct a briefing with the legislative staff of members of the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus. The caucus defines itself as “a bipartisan group of Members of Congress organized to get to ‘yes’ to help solve some of our country’s…

Comments Off

September 22, 2023