Blog – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Research

Meet Our Faculty Affiliate: Gerry Warburg

Meet Gerry Warburg: Practitioner and Beloved Professor Gerald Warburg, a Center for Effective Lawmaking Faculty Affiliate, is a seasoned Congressional practitioner who utilizes his breadth of experience to teach and lead the next generation. Currently, Warburg is a Professor of Practice of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. His research interests include the study of best practices by non-governmental organizations and the evolution of U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policies. Warburg’s professional background encompasses a broad array of public service. He…

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December 20, 2019

Meet Our Faculty Affiliate: Jennifer L. Lawless

Meet Jennifer L. Lawless: On the Gender Gap in Politics, Advice to Voters, and More CEL faculty affiliate Jennifer L. Lawless is the Commonwealth Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the UVA faculty, she was a professor of Government at American University and the Director of the Women & Politics Institute. Professor Lawless’s research focuses on political ambition, campaigns and elections, and media and politics. She is the author or co-author of six books, including Women on the Run: Gender, Media and Political Campaigns in…

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December 16, 2019

Legislative Anaylsis / Video

Watch: Former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock on Effective Lawmaking

On December 2, the Center for Effective Lawmaking was honored to host Former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA) at the University of Virginia. Mrs. Comstock's LES for the 115th Congress was a very high 3.706, ranking her 10th of her party (read more about the findings and analysis from the 115th Congress here). As speaker for the Batten Hour, she spoke at length on building coalitions and how we can increase diversity in representation. Watch the entire Batten Hour presentation here:

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December 3, 2019

About the CEL / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Research

Meet Our Faculty Affiliate: Sarah Treul

Meet Sarah Treul: Living Her Dream to Educate Sarah Treul, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has spent her eight years at the University focused on the broad idea of American political institutions. As one of our faculty affiliates, Treul’s compelling work on the effect of institutional design and rules on political outcomes is what truly distinguishes her research. Most recently, her research has focused on congressional primary elections and the role of candidate experience in campaigns and in Congress. However,…

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November 18, 2019

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Do Constituents Know (or Care) about the Lawmaking Effectiveness of their Representatives?

Do Constituents Know (or Care) about the Lawmaking Effectiveness of their Representatives? With Election Day quickly approaching, voters everywhere are readying themselves to cast their vote for their candidate of choice. While voters consider a wide array of factors when determining who to vote for, we sought to explore whether a representative’s lawmaking effectiveness might influence a voter’s evaluation of his/her potential choices? Substantial evidence exists that members of the U.S. Congress vary in their lawmaking effectiveness; and many classic studies of congress point to examples of Representatives and Senators…

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October 10, 2019

About the CEL

CEL Interns for 2019-2020

The Center for Effective Lawmaking announces interns for the 2019-2020 Academic Year.

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September 23, 2019

Legislative Research

Small Grant Awards 2019-2020 Announced

2019-2020 Small Grant Awards Announced It is with honor and excitement that we announce our 2nd annual small grant awards and recipients. Last year was the inaugural year of the program, and the body of academic research produced was impressive and critical to the field. We know that this year's group of awardees will deliver the same high caliber scholarly work.The CEL’s funding and support for research grants is consistent with its commitment to advancing the generation, communication, and use of new knowledge about the effectiveness of individual lawmakers and…

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August 29, 2019

Legislative Research

New Research About Women’s Advancement in Politics

New Research on Women's Advancement in Politics and the Gender Gap New research coming from our 2018-2019 small grant program has huge implications regarding the prospects for career advancement among female congressional staff. CEL affiliates and grant awardees Melinda N. Ritchie and Hye Young You find that female staff members experience slower rates of promotion and lower levels of compensation than male staff members at the same rank, and that this gender gap is most substantial for positions that present the greatest structural challenges for women. These differences appear to…

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August 27, 2019

About the CEL

2018-2019 Annual Report Now Available

The Center for Effective Lawmaking 2018-2019 Annual Report Welcome to the 2019 edition of the Center for Effective Lawmaking Annual Report. This overview report represents our annual means of spreading the word about the accomplishments, broad goals, and future plans for the Center. In a time when observers of politics have been quick to lament political polarization in the United States, and express frustration about the inability of our lawmaking institutions to engage with pressing policy problems, we strive to draw on our skills as social scientists and academic scholars…

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August 22, 2019

Legislative Anaylsis

The Five Habits of Highly Effective Lawmakers

The Five Habits of Highly Effective Lawmakers As Congress prepares to go into recess, it is an opportunity reflect upon the legislative work completed thus far in the 116th Congress. Additionally, with many initiatives and reforms facing Congress upon their return, lawmakers still have a lot of work ahead of them upon their return in September. While it can feel to voters as though progress on the Hill is slow or even nonexistent, we believe reports of the death of congressional lawmaking have been greatly exaggerated. Public discourse tends to…

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August 1, 2019

University of Virginia+Vanderbilt University

University of Virginia
+
Vanderbilt University