Legislative Effectiveness – Center for Effective Lawmaking

Roadmap to the Reconciliation Process

Tom Kahn, Adam Shifriss, and Craig Volden (from left to right). Photo by Andrew Colford. Roadmap to the Reconciliation Process Thursday, November 12, 2026The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) recently co-hosted a panel discussion on Capitol Hill with American University’s Program on Legislative Negotiation (PLN) and the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) entitled “Roadmap to the Reconciliation Process.” A follow-up to this summer’s “Roadmap to the Budget Process” session, the event served as a guide to the complex reconciliation process, and to connect high-level fiscal and negotiation concepts directly to…

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November 12, 2026

About the CEL

The CEL Welcomes the 2027 Class of Lawmakers

The CEL Welcomes the 2027 Class of Lawmakers With the conclusion of Election Day, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) congratulates the incoming 2027 class of lawmakers on both the federal and state levels. As you begin to map out your next few months, we want to offer ourselves as a resource for you, your transition team, and your eventual legislative office. This can come in the form of our federal and state New Member Guides, congressional Office Hours visits, orientation seminars, and other outlets and tools. Our materials and…

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November 5, 2026

Checks, Balances, and Presidential Ambitions

Checks, Balances, and Presidential Ambitions Do legislators with presidential ambitions neglect Congress in pursuit of higher office, or can those ambitions actually strengthen their role within the legislature? In this Quarterly Journal of Political Science article, Christian Fong (Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University and Center for Effective Lawmaking Faculty Affiliate), Kenneth Lowande (Associate Professor at Rice University), and Ayse Eldes (Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University) examine how running for president relates to members’ participation in the core legislative functions that shape Congress’s…

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October 22, 2026

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

The Legislative Effectiveness of Congressional Oversight Reports

The Legislative Effectiveness of Congressional Oversight Reports Wednesday, October 14, 2026In this published article in Legislative Studies Quarterly, Sean Theriault, Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Faculty Affiliate, examines the linkage between House and Senate oversight committee reports and subsequent legislative efforts in the same policy areas from the 106th through the 116th Congresses (1999-2020). He finds that policy topics appearing in the reports prompt the referral of bills related to such topics to the oversight committees. Topics covered in majority staff…

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October 14, 2026

Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Bipartisan Political Brands

Bipartisan Political Brands Wednesday, September 30, 2026 Can efforts to cultivate a bipartisan political brand meaningfully shape how lawmakers are perceived, or are such signals dismissed in an increasingly polarized political environment? In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Faculty Affiliate Andrew J. Clarke, an associate professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College, and Christopher M. Byrnes, a Lafayette College alum, examine whether affiliation with the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus can influence perceptions of legislators’ ideology. Through a descriptive analysis of newly collected Problem Solvers Caucus membership…

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September 30, 2026

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Research

Electable Effectiveness: How the Public Interprets Different Measures of Legislator Effectiveness

Electable Effectiveness: How the Public Interprets Different Measures of Legislator Effectiveness Thursday, September 24, 2026What does it mean to be an effective legislator in the eyes of constituents, and what kind of effectiveness do voters prefer? In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, Peter T. McLaughlin, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island, examines how legislative, distributive, and bipartisan effectiveness in the US Congress correlate with constituent support. Through a forced choice conjoint survey design to measure public preferences on the three forms of…

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September 24, 2026

Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Alaska Congressman Nick Begich

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Alaska Congressman Nick Begich Congressman Nick Begich represents Alaska’s at-large congressional district. Before entering Congress, he built a career as a technology entrepreneur and business executive while serving in numerous civic and policy leadership roles in Alaska. His work in Congress has focused on energy development, transportation, Alaska Native issues, election administration, and emerging technologies.Congressman Nick Begich was born and raised in Anchorage, AK, until he moved to Florida to attend high school. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University in Texas and…

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September 8, 2026

Conversations with Lawmakers / State Legislatures

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Arkansas Representative Andrew Collins

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Arkansas Representative Andrew Collins Representative Andrew Collins is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, and has served in the Arkansas State House of Representatives since 2019, where he currently represents District 73, which runs from Pinnacle to Riverside and encompasses much of North and West Little Rock.Representative Collins earned a bachelor’s degree in history and public policy studies from Duke University. After graduating, he began his career with the AmeriCorps VISTA program, before earning his law degree from Columbia University Law School. He later returned to…

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August 18, 2026

Policy Agendas, Effective Lawmaking, and Women’s Issues in State Legislatures

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Center Affiliates / Faculty Affiliates / Interest & Legislative Effectiveness Scores / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research / Policy Scores / State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Policy Agendas, Effective Lawmaking, and Women’s Issues in State Legislatures

Policy Agendas, Effective Lawmaking, and Women’s Issues in State Legislatures Tuesday, August 4, 2026 State legislatures introduce roughly 100,000 bills a year, far outpacing Congress, yet scholars have long lacked a reliable way to sort that volume into policy areas, making it hard to ask basic questions about which issues get attention, which stall, and who succeeds where. In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, the authors take on that challenge directly. It was written by Andrew M.O. Ballard, Associate Professor at Florida State University (and CEL Faculty…

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August 3, 2026

Conversations with Lawmakers / State Legislatures

Discussing Effective Lawmaking With Alabama Senator Arthur Orr

Discussing Effective Lawmaking With Alabama Senator Arthur Orr Senator Arthur Orr is a sixth-generation Alabamian, who grew up in Danville, Alabama, where he worked on the Alabama Sheriff’s Boys Ranch. He attended Wake Forest University, and as a student he served as chairman of the university Honor Council, received several academic honors, and held numerous leadership positions throughout the university. This pattern of leadership continued when he attended law school at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he earned leadership and academic honors while teaching freshman English and volunteering…

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August 3, 2026