Center for Effective Lawmaking

Center for Effective Lawmaking

University of Virginia
+
Vanderbilt University

CEL Event: Effective Lawmaking in Virginia
Conversations with Lawmakers / Events / Video

CEL Event: Effective Lawmaking in Virginia

Former Virginia House Minority Leader David Toscano and former Speaker Bill Howell (from left to right). (Photo by Ryan Strand, Batten School). CEL Event: Effective Lawmaking in Virginia On Monday, February 5, 2024, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), within the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, held a presentation titled   “Effective Lawmaking in Virginia: Past, Present, and Future” as part of the school’s Batten Hour series. The panel discussion featured Bill Howell, former Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and David…

Comments Off on CEL Event: Effective Lawmaking in Virginia
February 12, 2024
The CEL on “Understanding Congress”
Video

The CEL on “Understanding Congress”

The CEL on "Understanding Congress" Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), was a recent guest on the podcast "Understanding Congress," hosted by Kevin Kosar, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). They discussed the topic of “What is legislative effectiveness?”, covering what the term means, how it is measured, and why it is an important area of research. We are pleased to have…

Comments Off on The CEL on “Understanding Congress”
February 8, 2024
Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress
Center Affiliates / Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress

Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress Political scientists have emphasized the rightward ideological movement of congressional Republicans across recent decades, relative to a more limited leftward shift by Democrats. However, new research from Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) co-directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman (of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, respectively), and CEL Graduate Affiliate Patrick Buhr (also of Vanderbilt) argue that this asymmetric polarization has not translated into an equally conservative shift in lawmaking. Drawing on data on the lawmaking effectiveness of Representatives and…

Comments Off on Polarization and Lawmaking Effectiveness in the United States Congress
February 7, 2024
WATCH: Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy
Conversations with Lawmakers / Events

WATCH: Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy

WATCH: Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy On Friday, October 20, 2023, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) held a presentation titled “Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy” as part of our “Conversations with Effective Lawmakers” Series and the Karsh Institute’s “Democracy360” event, a three-day series that brought together thought leaders, journalists, policymakers, scholars, activists, artists, and students in Charlottesville, VA, to explore collectively how to shape a thriving democratic future. CEL co-directors, Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman, moderated a discussion panel featuring former U.S. House Representative Peter Roskam (R-IL)…

Comments Off on WATCH: Effective Lawmaking: A Cornerstone of Democracy
October 25, 2023
Pivots or Partisans?: Proposal-Making Strategy and Status Quo Selection in Congress
Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Pivots or Partisans?: Proposal-Making Strategy and Status Quo Selection in Congress

Pivots or Partisans? Proposal-Making Strategy and Status Quo Selection in Congress Lawmakers vary considerably in how effectively they advance their priorities through Congress. However, the actual proposal-writing strategies undergirding these differences have remained largely unexplored, due to measurement and methodological difficulties. These obstacles have included prohibitively small sample sizes, costly data requirements, and strong theoretical assumptions. In this Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) working paper, political scientists Jesse Crosson (CEL Faculty Affiliate), Alexander Furnas, and Geoffrey Lorenz (CEL Faculty Affiliate) address these obstacles and analyze the proposal strategies of effective…

Comments Off on Pivots or Partisans?: Proposal-Making Strategy and Status Quo Selection in Congress
September 27, 2023
Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Gerry Connolly
Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Gerry Connolly

Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Gerry Connolly Representative Gerry Connolly has served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district since 2009. Representative Connolly has been identified by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) as being the most effective Democratic lawmaker in the U.S. House during the 117th Congress, as well as the most effective Democratic House Member in the area of government operations. He was also cited as having one of the longest streaks of “Exceeding Expectations” among all House members.CEL Co-Directors Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman recently…

Comments Off on Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Gerry Connolly
September 19, 2023
How Modern Lawmakers Advertise Their Legislative Effectiveness to Constituents
Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

How Modern Lawmakers Advertise Their Legislative Effectiveness to Constituents

How Modern Lawmakers Advertise Their Legislative Effectiveness to Constituents In a complex information environment, members of Congress must communicate to their constituents their value as a representative. Specifically, they aim to convince voters that they are effective representatives and therefore ought to be reelected. Modern scholarship has focused largely on legislators’ effectiveness as lawmakers in areas like bill introduction, sponsorship, and shepherding of legislation through congressional procedures. But legislators do more than traditional lawmaking activities; they also engage in representational acts of advocacy and district-focused activity. This expanded notion of…

Comments Off on How Modern Lawmakers Advertise Their Legislative Effectiveness to Constituents
August 7, 2023
REWIND: Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Will Hurd
Conversations with Lawmakers

REWIND: Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Will Hurd

REWIND: Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Will Hurd Former Representative Will Hurd announced today that he was running for the Republican nomination for president. He served as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021, and 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.Back in September, CEL Co-Directors Craig Volden and…

Comments Off on REWIND: Discussing Legislative Effectiveness with Representative Will Hurd
June 22, 2023
Just How Unorthodox? Assessing Lawmaking on Omnibus Spending Bills
Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

Just How Unorthodox? Assessing Lawmaking on Omnibus Spending Bills

Just How Unorthodox? Assessing Lawmaking on Omnibus Spending Bills Scholars commonly observe that lawmaking in Congress has transitioned from the textbook system of “regular order” in which power was decentralized in committees and lawmaking followed a formal process to one of “unorthodox lawmaking” characterized by the centralization of power in party leaders and a lack of formal process. It is debated whether this change marks a decline in Congress’s lawmaking capacity, or is a procedural adaptation that has allowed Congress to remain productive despite high levels of partisanship. In this…

Comments Off on Just How Unorthodox? Assessing Lawmaking on Omnibus Spending Bills
June 21, 2023
The Legislative Success of “Giant Killers”
Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

The Legislative Success of “Giant Killers”

The Legislative Success of “Giant Killers” Incumbent members of Congress are difficult to defeat in elections: since the early 1970s, fewer than 10 percent of all those who have run against them have been successful. In this paper, Sean Theriault, Professor at The University of Texas at Austin and Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Faculty Affiliate, along with Jared Hrebenar and Isabel Reyna, examine the legislative effectiveness of those rare challengers who knock off incumbents they nickname “Giant Killers” and find that they have greater than expected legislative success after…

Comments Off on The Legislative Success of “Giant Killers”
June 20, 2023

End of content

No more pages to load

← Newer Posts
Older Posts →
Close Menu
Verified by MonsterInsights