Colin Achilles – Page 6 – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Deployed to the Hill: How Military Experience Influences Legislative Behavior in Congress

Deployed to the Hill: How Military Experience Influences 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 and their supporters often argue that electing more veterans will help reduce legislative dysfunction and gridlock. Are veteran legislators more effective lawmakers than those who have not served in the military? Are they more bipartisan in their legislative activities? Major Joseph Amoroso, an Instructor of American Politics at the United States Military Academy at…

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March 1, 2023

Events

Tools for Effective Lawmaking

Tools for Effective Lawmaking Last Friday, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) hosted a forum for congressional staffers at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. titled “Tools for Effective Lawmaking.” The purpose of the event was to provide attendees with an overview of the CEL, its mission, and its research-driven best practices for effective lawmaking in Congress; and to make staffers aware of other valuable resources that they might draw on in their jobs. In addition to the CEL Co-Directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman (who moderated), the…

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February 9, 2023

Board of Advisors

Tom Wickham: A Guide to the Major Issues on Congress’s Opening Day

Tom Wickham: A Guide to the Major Issues on Congress’s Opening Day As the 118th Congress gets underway, 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 Parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served in the Parliamentarian’s Office for 25 years, and helped referee 14 different elections for Speaker and advised on all aspects…

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January 2, 2023

About the CEL

2022: A Year in Review

2022: A Year in Review As 2022 draws to a close, we at the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) wanted to take the time to reflect on our accomplishments and what lies ahead in the new year, as well as to thank you for your contributions to the CEL. We are proud to present the Center for Effective Lawmaking Annual Report for 2021-2022. Here you will see highlights from the last academic year, including: Hosting our 3rd and 4th Annual Research Conferences, as well as the respective recipients of the…

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December 19, 2022

Conversations with Lawmakers / Events / Video

Success in the States: How Outstanding State Lawmakers Lead and Govern

Success in the States: How Outstanding State Lawmakers Lead and Govern On Monday, December 12, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), along with the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, Lyceum Labs, and the Millennial Action Project (MAP), cohosted the event "Success in the States: How Outstanding State Lawmakers Lead and Govern" in Washington, DC. The forum brought together a bipartisan group of state lawmakers and nonprofit leaders dedicated to supporting better political leadership in the U.S. to reflect on the issues at stake for our democracy. The participants spoke about their experiences and research, and provided valuable insights into how…

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December 15, 2022

Events

Inside the Stennis Center Retreat

Inside the Stennis Center Retreat Last week, the Center for Effective Lawmaking co-hosted a retreat with the Stennis Center for Public Service, a federal, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to provide a variety of public service programs and development opportunities. The purpose of the retreat was to commemorate the Stennis Congressional Staff Fellows Program, a bipartisan, bicameral leadership development program for senior-level staff members of Congress, which was concluding the two-year program for the cohort who served during the 117th Congress. Taking place in Charlottesville with…

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October 26, 2022

Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Will Hurd

Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Will Hurd Former Representative Will Hurd served as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021. Representative Hurd was identified by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) as being one of the top 10 most effective Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House during his first term in Congress, as well as being the third most effective freshman lawmaker within his class. CEL Co-Directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman recently sat down with Representative Hurd to discuss his time in Congress. Among…

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September 14, 2022

Legislative Research

Call for 2022-2023 Small Grant Awards

Call for 2022-2023 Small Grant Awards Proposal deadline: September 20, 2022 Awards announced by: October 17, 2022 The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) welcomes applications for grants to fund research consistent with the mission of the Center. The Center advances the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and U.S. legislative institutions. See our website (www.thelawmakers.org) for more on the CEL. The research receiving support must focus on effective lawmaking and must be designed to make an original scholarly contribution, generating and communicating new…

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August 25, 2022

Blog / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Congressional Town Halls and Legislative Effectiveness

Town hall meetings have long been a way for constituents to hear from their Representatives and Senators face-to-face, and to likewise raise their most pressing policy concerns. Is there a tradeoff between legislators spending their time and effort on town halls instead of focusing their energies on other important policymaking activities? New analysis from the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Faculty Affiliate Andrew J. Clarke and his co-author Daniel Markovits addresses this question by drawing on more than 23,000 town hall meetings over the past eight years.The authors find that the…

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August 2, 2022

Blog / Events / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Uncategorized / Video

Measuring the Effectiveness of Public Leaders

How do we know if public leaders are effective in their jobs? CEL Co-Director Craig Volden, Faculty Affiliate Laurel Harbridge-Yong, and Grant Recipient Beatriz Rey all contributed their insights as part of a panel discussion and Q&A hosted by the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Friday, July 22. They discussed the measurement of effectiveness of lawmakers, as well as how voters and others use effectiveness information to hold elected officials accountable.Watch the panel in its entirety below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQrwJ9vOKV8

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July 25, 2022