Ross English
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719063084
- eISBN:
- 9781781700228
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719063084.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
The role of the Congress is essential to any study of American government and politics. It would be impossible to gain a complete understanding of the American system of government without an ...
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The role of the Congress is essential to any study of American government and politics. It would be impossible to gain a complete understanding of the American system of government without an appreciation of the nature and workings of this essential body. This text looks at the workings of the United States Congress, and uses the Republican period of ascendancy, which lasted from 1994 until 2000, as an example of how the Congress works in practice. The book illustrates the basic principles of Congress using contemporary and recent examples, while also drawing attention to the changes that took place in the 1990s. The period of Republican control is absent from many of the standard texts and is of considerable academic interest for a number of reasons, not least the 1994 election, the budget deadlock in 1995 and the Clinton impeachment scandal of 1999. The book traces the origin and development of the United States Congress, before looking in depth at the role of representatives and senators, the committee system, parties in Congress, and the relationship between Congress and the President, the media and interest groups.Less
The role of the Congress is essential to any study of American government and politics. It would be impossible to gain a complete understanding of the American system of government without an appreciation of the nature and workings of this essential body. This text looks at the workings of the United States Congress, and uses the Republican period of ascendancy, which lasted from 1994 until 2000, as an example of how the Congress works in practice. The book illustrates the basic principles of Congress using contemporary and recent examples, while also drawing attention to the changes that took place in the 1990s. The period of Republican control is absent from many of the standard texts and is of considerable academic interest for a number of reasons, not least the 1994 election, the budget deadlock in 1995 and the Clinton impeachment scandal of 1999. The book traces the origin and development of the United States Congress, before looking in depth at the role of representatives and senators, the committee system, parties in Congress, and the relationship between Congress and the President, the media and interest groups.
Jasmine Farrier
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813192628
- eISBN:
- 9780813135496
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813192628.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Is the United States Congress dead, alive, or trapped in a moribund cycle? When confronted with controversial policy issues, members of Congress struggle to satisfy conflicting legislative, ...
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Is the United States Congress dead, alive, or trapped in a moribund cycle? When confronted with controversial policy issues, members of Congress struggle to satisfy conflicting legislative, representative, and oversight duties. These competing goals, along with the pressure to satisfy local constituents, cause members of Congress to routinely cede power on a variety of policies, express regret over their loss of control, and later return to the habit of delegating their power. This pattern of institutional ambivalence undermines conventional wisdom about congressional party resurgence, the power of oversight, and the return of the so-called imperial presidency. This book examines Congress's frequent delegation of power by analyzing primary source materials such as bills, committee reports, and the Congressional Record. The book demonstrates that Congress is caught between abdication and ambition and that this ambivalence affects numerous facets of the legislative process. Explaining specific instances of post-delegation disorder, including Congress's use of new bills, obstruction, public criticism, and oversight to salvage its lost power, the book exposes the tensions surrounding Congress's roles in recent hot-button issues such as base-closing commissions, presidential trade promotion authority, and responses to the attacks of September 11. It also examines shifting public rhetoric used by members of Congress as they emphasize, in institutionally self-conscious terms, the difficulties of balancing their multiple roles.Less
Is the United States Congress dead, alive, or trapped in a moribund cycle? When confronted with controversial policy issues, members of Congress struggle to satisfy conflicting legislative, representative, and oversight duties. These competing goals, along with the pressure to satisfy local constituents, cause members of Congress to routinely cede power on a variety of policies, express regret over their loss of control, and later return to the habit of delegating their power. This pattern of institutional ambivalence undermines conventional wisdom about congressional party resurgence, the power of oversight, and the return of the so-called imperial presidency. This book examines Congress's frequent delegation of power by analyzing primary source materials such as bills, committee reports, and the Congressional Record. The book demonstrates that Congress is caught between abdication and ambition and that this ambivalence affects numerous facets of the legislative process. Explaining specific instances of post-delegation disorder, including Congress's use of new bills, obstruction, public criticism, and oversight to salvage its lost power, the book exposes the tensions surrounding Congress's roles in recent hot-button issues such as base-closing commissions, presidential trade promotion authority, and responses to the attacks of September 11. It also examines shifting public rhetoric used by members of Congress as they emphasize, in institutionally self-conscious terms, the difficulties of balancing their multiple roles.
Thomas P. Crocker
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780300181616
- eISBN:
- 9780300182217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300181616.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter talks about necessity that enables presidential discretion, such as the aftermath of September 11 where the president argued he must have all the powers needed to fulfill his obligation ...
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This chapter talks about necessity that enables presidential discretion, such as the aftermath of September 11 where the president argued he must have all the powers needed to fulfill his obligation on national security. It responds to arguments regarding the president having all the power that necessity confers. It scrutinizes the view that there is an implied “necessary and proper” power that applies to the president that are analogous to the Article I Necessary and Proper Clause enumerated for Congress. The chapter also considers the scope of implied presidential power, arguing that even if there is power to do what is necessary, it is still constrained by conceptions of what is proper. It points out why propriety becomes a way of incorporating Chief Justice Marshall's argument in McCulloch that constitutional principles constrain necessitarian discretion.Less
This chapter talks about necessity that enables presidential discretion, such as the aftermath of September 11 where the president argued he must have all the powers needed to fulfill his obligation on national security. It responds to arguments regarding the president having all the power that necessity confers. It scrutinizes the view that there is an implied “necessary and proper” power that applies to the president that are analogous to the Article I Necessary and Proper Clause enumerated for Congress. The chapter also considers the scope of implied presidential power, arguing that even if there is power to do what is necessary, it is still constrained by conceptions of what is proper. It points out why propriety becomes a way of incorporating Chief Justice Marshall's argument in McCulloch that constitutional principles constrain necessitarian discretion.
James A. Wooten
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242739
- eISBN:
- 9780520931398
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242739.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
On Labor Day, President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The enactment of ERISA presents a political puzzle. The political history of ERISA provides ...
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On Labor Day, President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The enactment of ERISA presents a political puzzle. The political history of ERISA provides benchmarks for gauging how well current law suits emerging needs and an important counterpoint to the conventional wisdom about policy-making in the United States Congress. ERISA recast the federal government’s role in the private pension system. ERISA reflected a new conceptual framework for pension policymaking—the worker-security theory. Union officials who opposed pension reform used a related argument that stressed the economic constraints on the employment relationship. Jacob Javits’ tactics did not prevent members of Congress from exercising independent judgment in their consideration of pension reform legislation.Less
On Labor Day, President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The enactment of ERISA presents a political puzzle. The political history of ERISA provides benchmarks for gauging how well current law suits emerging needs and an important counterpoint to the conventional wisdom about policy-making in the United States Congress. ERISA recast the federal government’s role in the private pension system. ERISA reflected a new conceptual framework for pension policymaking—the worker-security theory. Union officials who opposed pension reform used a related argument that stressed the economic constraints on the employment relationship. Jacob Javits’ tactics did not prevent members of Congress from exercising independent judgment in their consideration of pension reform legislation.
William W. Buzbee
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451904
- eISBN:
- 9780801470301
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451904.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter recounts the beginnings of another trial resulting from the EPA's failure to exercise its Section 404(c) veto power as well as a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) ...
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This chapter recounts the beginnings of another trial resulting from the EPA's failure to exercise its Section 404(c) veto power as well as a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) Draft which minimized Westway's harm on the striped bass. Despite the abundant data showing substantial usage of the proposed Westway site by young striped bass, often the highest percentages of all tested sites, the Final SEIS and permit decision dismissed such risks. In addition, adding pressure for both opponents and New York government leaders, any possible trade-in for Westway had to be completed by a statutory deadline of September 30, 1985. The courts and the United States Congress were therefore at that point the opponents' focus, as was the lack of explanation for the many Draft-to-Final SEIS changes regarding the impact on striped bass.Less
This chapter recounts the beginnings of another trial resulting from the EPA's failure to exercise its Section 404(c) veto power as well as a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) Draft which minimized Westway's harm on the striped bass. Despite the abundant data showing substantial usage of the proposed Westway site by young striped bass, often the highest percentages of all tested sites, the Final SEIS and permit decision dismissed such risks. In addition, adding pressure for both opponents and New York government leaders, any possible trade-in for Westway had to be completed by a statutory deadline of September 30, 1985. The courts and the United States Congress were therefore at that point the opponents' focus, as was the lack of explanation for the many Draft-to-Final SEIS changes regarding the impact on striped bass.
Alice Elizabeth Malavasic
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469635521
- eISBN:
- 9781469635538
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469635521.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
Pushing back against the idea that the Slave Power conspiracy was merely an ideological construction, Alice Elizabeth Malavasic argues that some southern politicians in the 1850s did indeed hold an ...
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Pushing back against the idea that the Slave Power conspiracy was merely an ideological construction, Alice Elizabeth Malavasic argues that some southern politicians in the 1850s did indeed hold an inordinate amount of power in the antebellum Congress and used it to foster the interests of slavery. Malavasic focuses her argument on Senators David Rice Atchison of Missouri, Andrew Pickens Butler of South Carolina, and Robert M.T. Hunter and James Murray Mason of Virginia, known by their contemporaries as the “F Street Mess” for the location of the house they shared. Unlike the earlier and better-known triumvirate of John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster, the F Street Mess was a functioning oligarchy within the U.S. Senate whose power was based on shared ideology, institutional seniority, and personal friendship. By centering on their most significant achievement—forcing a rewrite of the Nebraska bill that repealed the restriction against slavery above the 36 30 parallel—Malavasic demonstrates how the F Street Mess’s mastery of the legislative process led to one of the most destructive pieces of legislation in United States history and helped pave the way to secession.Less
Pushing back against the idea that the Slave Power conspiracy was merely an ideological construction, Alice Elizabeth Malavasic argues that some southern politicians in the 1850s did indeed hold an inordinate amount of power in the antebellum Congress and used it to foster the interests of slavery. Malavasic focuses her argument on Senators David Rice Atchison of Missouri, Andrew Pickens Butler of South Carolina, and Robert M.T. Hunter and James Murray Mason of Virginia, known by their contemporaries as the “F Street Mess” for the location of the house they shared. Unlike the earlier and better-known triumvirate of John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster, the F Street Mess was a functioning oligarchy within the U.S. Senate whose power was based on shared ideology, institutional seniority, and personal friendship. By centering on their most significant achievement—forcing a rewrite of the Nebraska bill that repealed the restriction against slavery above the 36 30 parallel—Malavasic demonstrates how the F Street Mess’s mastery of the legislative process led to one of the most destructive pieces of legislation in United States history and helped pave the way to secession.
William W. Buzbee
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451904
- eISBN:
- 9780801470301
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451904.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter recounts the beginnings of another trial resulting from the EPA's failure to exercise its Section 404(c) veto power as well as a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) ...
More
This chapter recounts the beginnings of another trial resulting from the EPA's failure to exercise its Section 404(c) veto power as well as a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) Draft which minimized Westway's harm on the striped bass. Despite the abundant data showing substantial usage of the proposed Westway site by young striped bass, often the highest percentages of all tested sites, the Final SEIS and permit decision dismissed such risks. In addition, adding pressure for both opponents and New York government leaders, any possible trade-in for Westway had to be completed by a statutory deadline of September 30, 1985. The courts and the United States Congress were therefore at that point the opponents' focus, as was the lack of explanation for the many Draft-to-Final SEIS changes regarding the impact on striped bass.
Less
This chapter recounts the beginnings of another trial resulting from the EPA's failure to exercise its Section 404(c) veto power as well as a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) Draft which minimized Westway's harm on the striped bass. Despite the abundant data showing substantial usage of the proposed Westway site by young striped bass, often the highest percentages of all tested sites, the Final SEIS and permit decision dismissed such risks. In addition, adding pressure for both opponents and New York government leaders, any possible trade-in for Westway had to be completed by a statutory deadline of September 30, 1985. The courts and the United States Congress were therefore at that point the opponents' focus, as was the lack of explanation for the many Draft-to-Final SEIS changes regarding the impact on striped bass.
John Roy Lynch
John Hope Franklin (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781604731149
- eISBN:
- 9781496833624
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604731149.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
Born into slavery on a Louisiana plantation, John Roy Lynch (1847–1939) became an adult during the Reconstruction Era and lived a public-spirited life for over three decades. His political career ...
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Born into slavery on a Louisiana plantation, John Roy Lynch (1847–1939) became an adult during the Reconstruction Era and lived a public-spirited life for over three decades. His political career began in 1869 with his appointment as justice of the peace. Within the year, he was elected to the Mississippi legislature and was later elected Speaker of the House. At age twenty-five, Lynch became the first African American from Mississippi to be elected to the United States Congress. He led the fight to secure passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1875. In 1884, he was elected temporary chairman of the Eighth Republican National Convention and was the first black American to deliver the keynote address. This, his autobiography, reflects Lynch's thoughtful and nuanced understanding of the past and of his own experience. The book, written when he was ninety, challenges a number of traditional arguments about Reconstruction. In his experience, African Americans in the South competed on an equal basis with whites; the state governments were responsive to the needs of the people; and race was not always a decisive factor in the politics of Reconstruction. The book provides rich material for the study of American politics and race relations during Reconstruction. Lynch's childhood reflections reveal new dimensions to our understanding of black experience during slavery and beyond. An introduction puts Lynch's public and private lives in the context of his times and provides an overview of how Reminiscences of an Active Life came to be written.Less
Born into slavery on a Louisiana plantation, John Roy Lynch (1847–1939) became an adult during the Reconstruction Era and lived a public-spirited life for over three decades. His political career began in 1869 with his appointment as justice of the peace. Within the year, he was elected to the Mississippi legislature and was later elected Speaker of the House. At age twenty-five, Lynch became the first African American from Mississippi to be elected to the United States Congress. He led the fight to secure passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1875. In 1884, he was elected temporary chairman of the Eighth Republican National Convention and was the first black American to deliver the keynote address. This, his autobiography, reflects Lynch's thoughtful and nuanced understanding of the past and of his own experience. The book, written when he was ninety, challenges a number of traditional arguments about Reconstruction. In his experience, African Americans in the South competed on an equal basis with whites; the state governments were responsive to the needs of the people; and race was not always a decisive factor in the politics of Reconstruction. The book provides rich material for the study of American politics and race relations during Reconstruction. Lynch's childhood reflections reveal new dimensions to our understanding of black experience during slavery and beyond. An introduction puts Lynch's public and private lives in the context of his times and provides an overview of how Reminiscences of an Active Life came to be written.
Paul Collier
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195395259
- eISBN:
- 9780197562802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195395259.003.0015
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Sustainability
Factories produce the goods that we want. They also spew out smoke. The smoky factory is, in fact, the classic image used by economists to illustrate the idea of an externality. The factory sells ...
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Factories produce the goods that we want. They also spew out smoke. The smoky factory is, in fact, the classic image used by economists to illustrate the idea of an externality. The factory sells the goods but does not have to pay for the smoke. We now know that smoke is more damaging than previously appreciated. There is nothing more natural than carbon dioxide; it is one of the basic ingredients of life. Yet carbon has become a natural liability. It accumulates up in the atmosphere, trapping in heat. Of course carbon only becomes a problem when it passes the threshold at which it is excessive. We have passed that threshold. As the extra carbon traps in heat, the world heats up, and as it heats up the climate becomes more volatile. The consequences are wide-ranging, but Africa will be the region most severely affected. Africa is huge and climate change will not affect it uniformly, but it seems likely that the drier parts will become drier still, making staple foods unviable. Increased climate variation, which means droughts, floods, and bouts of intense heat, can wreak havoc with traditional cultivation. Agriculture, which is currently Africa’s main economic activity, will become less productive. A rapidly growing population will be scratching a living from a progressively less amenable natural environment. Carbon brings together the key themes of this book. Although it is natural, extra carbon is now a liability; there is nothing intrinsically benign about nature. It is emitted not just by industry but by a number of natural processes. For example, probably the most natural of all human economic activities is rearing cattle. Pastoralists have been ranging the wilderness for millennia. Unfortunately, in terms of global warming, they are more of a menace than nuclear power stations, which produce energy without emitting carbon. That is because cows fart. Being renewable, carbon shares much of the economics of fish and trees, except that instead of being a renewable natural asset it is a renewable natural liability. The damage it does depends not upon how much is emitted today, but on how much has been emitted cumulatively over recent decades.
Less
Factories produce the goods that we want. They also spew out smoke. The smoky factory is, in fact, the classic image used by economists to illustrate the idea of an externality. The factory sells the goods but does not have to pay for the smoke. We now know that smoke is more damaging than previously appreciated. There is nothing more natural than carbon dioxide; it is one of the basic ingredients of life. Yet carbon has become a natural liability. It accumulates up in the atmosphere, trapping in heat. Of course carbon only becomes a problem when it passes the threshold at which it is excessive. We have passed that threshold. As the extra carbon traps in heat, the world heats up, and as it heats up the climate becomes more volatile. The consequences are wide-ranging, but Africa will be the region most severely affected. Africa is huge and climate change will not affect it uniformly, but it seems likely that the drier parts will become drier still, making staple foods unviable. Increased climate variation, which means droughts, floods, and bouts of intense heat, can wreak havoc with traditional cultivation. Agriculture, which is currently Africa’s main economic activity, will become less productive. A rapidly growing population will be scratching a living from a progressively less amenable natural environment. Carbon brings together the key themes of this book. Although it is natural, extra carbon is now a liability; there is nothing intrinsically benign about nature. It is emitted not just by industry but by a number of natural processes. For example, probably the most natural of all human economic activities is rearing cattle. Pastoralists have been ranging the wilderness for millennia. Unfortunately, in terms of global warming, they are more of a menace than nuclear power stations, which produce energy without emitting carbon. That is because cows fart. Being renewable, carbon shares much of the economics of fish and trees, except that instead of being a renewable natural asset it is a renewable natural liability. The damage it does depends not upon how much is emitted today, but on how much has been emitted cumulatively over recent decades.
