Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- THE AMERICAN CONGRESS READER
- PART I THE AMERICAN CONGRESS: MODERN TRENDS
- PART II REPRESENTATION AND LAWMAKING IN CONGRESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
- PART III CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS AND POLICY ALIGNMENTS
- PART IV MEMBERS, GOALS, RESOURCES, AND STRATEGIES
- PART V PARTIES AND LEADERS
- PART VI THE STANDING COMMITTEES
- 17 Distributive and Partisan Issues in Agriculture Policy in the 104th House
- 18 Principals, Goals, Dimensionality, and Congressional Committees
- 19 Nonlegislative Hearings and Policy Change in Congress
- PART VII THE RULES OF THE LEGISLATIVE GAME
- PART VIII THE FLOOR AND VOTING
- PART IX CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT
- PART X CONGRESS AND THE COURTS
- PART XI CONGRESS, LOBBYISTS, AND INTEREST GROUPS
- PART XII CONGRESS AND BUDGET POLITICS
- PART XIII FURTHER READINGS ON CONGRESSIONAL POLITICS
- References
18 - Principals, Goals, Dimensionality, and Congressional Committees
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- THE AMERICAN CONGRESS READER
- PART I THE AMERICAN CONGRESS: MODERN TRENDS
- PART II REPRESENTATION AND LAWMAKING IN CONGRESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
- PART III CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS AND POLICY ALIGNMENTS
- PART IV MEMBERS, GOALS, RESOURCES, AND STRATEGIES
- PART V PARTIES AND LEADERS
- PART VI THE STANDING COMMITTEES
- 17 Distributive and Partisan Issues in Agriculture Policy in the 104th House
- 18 Principals, Goals, Dimensionality, and Congressional Committees
- 19 Nonlegislative Hearings and Policy Change in Congress
- PART VII THE RULES OF THE LEGISLATIVE GAME
- PART VIII THE FLOOR AND VOTING
- PART IX CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT
- PART X CONGRESS AND THE COURTS
- PART XI CONGRESS, LOBBYISTS, AND INTEREST GROUPS
- PART XII CONGRESS AND BUDGET POLITICS
- PART XIII FURTHER READINGS ON CONGRESSIONAL POLITICS
- References
Summary
The authors contend that committees are best viewed as agents of multiple principals. That is, committee members take direction from constituents, the parent chamber, and their party. The relative importance of these principals varies across committees and over time. The authors explore the influence of three factors – issue salience, partisanship, and dimensionality – on the relationship of committees to the principals.
Three issues distinguish recent positive theories of congressional institutions from each other. The first issue is the identity of the principals for whom standing committee members serve as agents. (The focus on committees and their members is natural because committees occupy a special place in the decision-making process.) The possible principals include district constituents, the parent chamber, and the parent parties (or at least the median voter within each party).
The second issue is motivation or goals. Reasonable motivations for the various principals have been proposed. Constituents seek federal benefits, the typical member in the parent chamber seeks to reduce uncertainty about policy outcomes, and party leaders seek to protect or enhance the reputation of the party. Committee members seek reelection, policy choices, or policy outcomes.
The third issue is political dimensionality. The complexity of the issues and the presence of cross-cutting majorities are problems for any set of principals – constituents, chamber colleagues, or party colleagues. Problems that beset collective action by these groups are compounded by problems of majority-rule cycling whenever the political space is characterized by two or more dimensions.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The American Congress Reader , pp. 221 - 229Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008