Congress – Page 2 – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Interpersonal Relationships, Bipartisanship, and January 6th

Interpersonal Relationships, Bipartisanship, and January 6th Collaboration among colleagues is a cornerstone of effective lawmaking in Congress. Building and maintaining strong interpersonal relationships between legislators is especially important for fostering bipartisan cooperation. However, in the aftermath of the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, many Democratic lawmakers expressed reluctance to work with Republican colleagues who opposed certifying the 2020 presidential election results, claiming these actions had irreparably damaged their working relationships. Have these damaged relationships impacted overall legislative effectiveness in Congress? In this forthcoming published paper in the…

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January 21, 2025

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

(C)H.Dodge,L.Lamsa

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Where Bills Die in the U.S. Senate

Where Bills Die in the U.S. Senate Friday, November 8, 2024To advance their policy goals in the second Trump administration, Republicans are considering how best to organize Congress. One natural obstacle is the Senate, commonly described as “where bills go to die.” The Senate floor, in particular, presents a significant hurdle – with the possibility of legislative holds and the need for either unanimous consent or a lengthy process of filibusters and securing 60 votes for cloture, barring budget reconciliation procedures.To determine how much of a challenge the Senate poses…

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November 8, 2024

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Legislative Effectiveness, Electoral Anticipation, and Garnering Campaign Advantage in the US Senate

Legislative Effectiveness, Electoral Anticipation, and Garnering Campaign Advantage in the US Senate In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Assistant Professor (and CEL Affiliate) Carlos Algara of Claremont Graduate University examines if US Senators anticipate an electoral cost for legislative ineffectiveness. Specifically, he determines whether or not they garner electoral payoffs if they act on this electoral incentive by increasing effectiveness prior to re-election. Through analyzing data on Senate primaries since 1980, he concludes that senators do conveniently become more effective before re-election when they are in-cycle and…

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October 29, 2024

Center Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Outcome-Consequential Campaigning

Outcome-Consequential Campaigning In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Co-Directors Craig Volden (University of Virginia) and Alan Wiseman (Vanderbilt University) and Ph.D. Candidate Mackenzie Dobson (University of Virginia) examine whether congressional campaigns offer insights into likely policy outcomes championed by the candidates, including those resulting from collective policymaking. To address this inquiry, the co-authors utilized new scholarship to highlight the enhanced lawmaking effectiveness of bipartisan legislators. They found that, since the year 2000, more than a third of congressional freshmen used bipartisan language on the campaign trail. These bipartisan campaigners…

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October 21, 2024

(C)H.Dodge,L.Lamsa

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Research

Effective Lawmaking Behind the Scenes

Effective Lawmaking Behind the Scenes In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Co-Directors Craig Volden (University of Virginia) and Alan Wiseman (Vanderbilt University), and Faculty Affiliates Mary Kroeger (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), Erinn Lauterbach (Villanova University), and Kelsey Shoub (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) demonstrate how behind-the-scenes lawmaking has become much more common in the U.S. Congress in recent years, with numerous bills embedded in must-pass legislation. Building on previous political science research, they offer a methodology to identify all bills that are substantially embedded in all laws in both…

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July 16, 2024

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Research

Legislative Effectiveness: The Elements of Success

Legislative Effectiveness: The Elements of Success The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman recently wrote an essay titled “Legislative Effectiveness: The Elements of Success” which was published in the Summer 2024 issue of the quarterly political journal Democracy as part of the symposium “Revitalizing Political Leadership.” The article examines the role of state legislatures in developing effective lawmakers at both the state and federal levels, based on the analysis of the CEL’s Legislative Effectiveness Scores (which measure lawmaking effectiveness of members of Congress) and the…

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June 25, 2024

About the CEL / Center Affiliates / Conference / Events / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

The CEL’s 2024 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking

Ju Yeon “Julia” Park (r) being presented with the CEL’s Best Publication award by co-director Craig Volden (l) (Photo by Jenna Huber, Batten School). The CEL's 2024 Award for Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) was pleased to announce the recipient of the 2024 Award for the Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking at our Sixth Annual Research Conference, at the University of Virginia on Monday, June 10, 2024. The recipients of this year’s award are Pamela Ban (UC San Diego), Ju Yeon “Julia” Park (The Ohio…

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June 18, 2024

Events

CEL presentation to the Regional Reporters Association

CEL presentation to the Regional Reporters Association On May 13, 2024, the Regional Reporters Association hosted a webinar featuring Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman. The Association represents local news outlets covering Washington, D.C. from their hometown perspectives, bringing insights from inside the Beltway to their local constituents and communities. Professors Volden and Wiseman offered an overview of the CEL, highlighting the Legislative Effectiveness Scores of members of Congress, how these scores undergird CEL’s larger research agenda, as well as how this research can be…

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May 21, 2024

Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Mark Takano

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Mark Takano Representative Mark Takano has represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013, and currently serves the 39th congressional district. He has been identified by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) as being the fifth-most and sixth-most effective Democratic lawmaker in the House in the 116th and 117th Congress, respectively (which convened from 2019-2021 and 2021-2023). He was also identified as being the most effective Democratic House member in these congresses in advancing Defense policy. In addition, he was the most effective…

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May 14, 2024