Blog – Center for Effective Lawmaking

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…

0 Comments

October 10, 2019

About the CEL

CEL Interns for 2019-2020

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

0 Comments

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…

Comments Off

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…

Comments Off

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…

Comments Off

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…

Comments Off

August 1, 2019

Events

Inside the 2nd Annual Research Conference at the Center for Effective Lawmaking

Inside the 2nd Annual Research Conference at the Center for Effective Lawmaking The Center for Effective Lawmaking hosted its Second Annual Research Conference on June 10, 2019 at the University of Virginia. The conference featured seven presentations of work focused on the conference theme “The Pipeline of Potentially Effective Lawmakers: Who Runs and Who Gets Elected?” The Center for Effective Lawmaking's research team has developed three areas of focus for the research: identification of the characteristics of those who would likely become effective lawmakers once elected; cultivation of effective lawmakers…

Comments Off

July 24, 2019

Legislative Effectiveness Scores

Highlights from the New 115th Congress Legislative Effectiveness Scores

Highlights from the New 115th Congress Legislative Effectiveness Scores The Center for Effective Lawmaking is pleased to announce the release of the Legislative Effectiveness Scores (LES) for the recently completed 115th Congress (2017-18). As in all previous releases, the scores are based on the combination of fifteen metrics regarding the bills that members of Congress sponsor, how far they move through the lawmaking process, and how important their policy proposals are. The scores are normalized to an average value of 1.0 in each the House and the Senate. More on…

3 Comments

February 27, 2019

Legislative Anaylsis

Re-Thinking How We Vote

Re-Thinking How We Vote In today’s political arena, it is tempting to vote for candidates with the best slogan. But perhaps, we could build a better Congress if we voted for leaders who delivered results.Every two years, ineffective members of Congress are re-elected to their positions – sometimes effortlessly. And while this year voter turnout surpassed previous highs [i], simply just turning out to vote does not exhaust the extent of our civic duties. Robust civic engagement demands that we do our due diligence before we step in the booth.This…

Comments Off

November 29, 2018

Legislative Research

2019 Research Grant Recipients

2018-2019 Grant Recipients in the Field of Legislative Effectiveness This fall, the Center for Effective Lawmaking, announced its first round of grant recipients.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 legislative institutions in Congress. A defining feature of the Center is its emphasis that research and understanding yield new opportunities to improve lawmaking effectiveness. The 2019 research grant recipients:Hanna K. Brant – University of MissouriAndrew Clarke – Lafayette…

Comments Off

November 26, 2018

University of Virginia+Vanderbilt University

University of Virginia
+
Vanderbilt University