scholarly journals Women’s Issues and Their Fates in the US Congress

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 679-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Volden ◽  
Alan E. Wiseman ◽  
Dana E. Wittmer

Significant scholarship indicates that female legislators focus their attention on “women’s issues” to a greater extent than do male lawmakers. Drawing on over 40 years of bill sponsorship data from the US House of Representatives, we define women’s issues in terms of those sponsored at a greater rate by women in Congress. Our analysis reveals that most (but not all) of the classically considered women’s issues are indeed raised at an enhanced rate by congresswomen. We then track the fate of those issues. While 4 percent of all bills become law, that rate drops to 2 percent for women’s issues and to only 1 percent for women’s issue bills sponsored by women themselves. This pattern persists over time—from the early 1970s through today—and upon controlling for other factors that influence bills success rates. We link the bias against women’s issues to the committee process, and suggest several avenues for further research.

Author(s):  
Halyna Shchyhelska

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Ukrainian independence. OnJanuary 22, 1918, the Ukrainian People’s Republic proclaimed its independence by adopting the IV Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada, although this significant event was «wiped out» from the public consciousness on the territory of Ukraine during the years of the Soviet totalitarian regime. At the same time, January 22 was a crucial event for the Ukrainian diaspora in the USA. This article examines how American Ukrainians interacted with the USA Government institutions regarding the celebration and recognition of the Ukrainian Independence day on January 22. The attention is focused on the activities of ethnic Ukrainians in the United States, directed at the organization of the special celebration of the Ukrainian Independence anniversaries in the US Congress and cities. Drawing from the diaspora press and Congressional Records, this article argues that many members of Congress participated in the observed celebration and expressed kind feelings to the Ukrainian people, recognised their fight for freedom, during the House of Representatives and Senate sessions. Several Congressmen submitted the resolutions in the US Congress urging the President of United States to designate January 22 as «Ukrainian lndependence Day». January 22 was proclaimed Ukrainian Day by the governors of fifteen States and mayors of many cities. Keywords: January 22, Ukrainian independence day, Ukrainian diaspora, USA, interaction, Congress


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 453-474
Author(s):  
Steven J. Choquette ◽  
David L. Duewer ◽  
Katherine E. Sharpless

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly the National Bureau of Standards, was established by the US Congress in 1901 and charged with establishing a measurement foundation to facilitate US and international commerce. This broad language provides NIST with the ability to establish and implement its programs in response to changes in national needs and priorities. This review traces some of the changes in NIST's reference material programs over time and presents the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory's current approach to promoting accuracy and metrological traceability of chemical measurements and validation of chemical measurement processes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID E. LEWIS

The US Congress has often sought to limit presidential influence over certain public policies by designing agencies that are insulated from presidential control. Whether or not insulated agencies persist over time has important consequences for presidential management. If those agencies that persist over time are also those that are the most immune from presidential direction, this has potentially fatal consequences for the president's ability to manage the executive branch. Modern presidents will preside over a less and less manageable bureaucracy over time. This article explains why agencies insulated from presidential control are more durable than other agencies and shows that they have a significantly higher expected duration than other agencies. The conclusion is that modern American presidents preside over a bureaucracy that is increasingly insulated from their control.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (21) ◽  
pp. 6591-6594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy A. Frimer ◽  
Karl Aquino ◽  
Jochen E. Gebauer ◽  
Luke (Lei) Zhu ◽  
Harrison Oakes

Talking about helping others makes a person seem warm and leads to social approval. This work examines the real world consequences of this basic, social-cognitive phenomenon by examining whether record-low levels of public approval of the US Congress may, in part, be a product of declining use of prosocial language during Congressional debates. A text analysis of all 124 million words spoken in the House of Representatives between 1996 and 2014 found that declining levels of prosocial language strongly predicted public disapproval of Congress 6 mo later. Warm, prosocial language still predicted public approval when removing the effects of societal and global factors (e.g., the September 11 attacks) and Congressional efficacy (e.g., passing bills), suggesting that prosocial language has an independent, direct effect on social approval.


Politics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Stockemer ◽  
Rodrigo Praino

While every student in American politics knows that the incumbency advantage grew post-1965, it is less clear as to whether or not this growth has been sustainable throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Focusing on the last three decades, we show that the electoral margins of sitting members of the House of Representatives have not linearly grown over the past 60 years. On the contrary, the constant increase in incumbents' vote shares between the 1960s and 1980s could not be sustained in the 1990s. In fact, in the 1990s, the incumbency advantage dropped sharply to levels experienced in the 1960s. In recent years, the electoral margin of sitting House members seems to have grown again to levels comparable to those in the 1970s.


Author(s):  
Ekaterina Nikolaevna Danilova

The article analyzes the level of influence of Ukraine caucuses in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on the U.S. foreign-policy decision-making in relation to Ukraine in 1997 - 2021. To fully understand the role of caucuses in law making, the author describes their typology used by the Congressional Research Service, and analyzes their structure, purposes and main directions of activity. The research is based on the analysis of legislative documents of the U.S. Congress, based on which the author describes the activity of Ukraine caucuses, and on the systematization of annual financial reports of the U.S. Department of Justice, which help to define the key directions of Ukraine lobbying. The comparative analysis of the work of Ukraine caucuses and lobbyists helps to define their common interests and points of difference. The topicality of the research is determined by the international context after the Revolution of Dignity, and the threats and tensity which regularly appear due to the unstable situation in Ukraine. The author concludes that Ukraine caucuses in the U.S. Congress, especially the Senate Ukraine Caucus, are the U.S. political tool for defending its national interests in Eastern Europe manifesting itself in the promotion of democracy, and basically used for solving military problems. 


Author(s):  
Pittman Edward L ◽  
Kramer Howard L

This chapter provides an overview of the laws applicable to the markets and regulated market participants in the US. It recounts how US securities markets have evolved significantly over time due to advancements in technology and intervening efforts by lawmakers and securities regulators. It also notes the current US system of securities regulation, which was formulated in the early 1930s by the US Congress in an attempt to restore confidence in the financial system following a market collapse, bank failures, and widespread scandals. This chapter looks at the laws that directly affect the day—to—day operations of securities exchanges and equity markets in the US and are enforced by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It also mentions the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) as the principal law that governs the US equity markets.


Author(s):  
João Ricardo Faria ◽  
Franklin G. Mixon

Almost one third of all who served in the US Senate between 1943 and 2020 ascended to their positions in that legislative body directly from the US House of Representatives. Thus, we model the legislative branch of the US government as an internal labour market, wherein members of the lower chamber seek ‘promotion’ (that is, election) to positions in the more prestigious upper chamber. This process includes the possibility that some US representatives are being promoted to positions in the Senate for which they are not competent, a situation referred to as the Peter Principle. Another possibility is that the ‘most ineffective’ US representatives are using this internal labour market to attain promotion to the Senate, an outcome that is referred to as the Dilbert Principle. Gallup polling data on the job approval by the public of the US Congress, along with absenteeism data on members of the US Senate, support both possibilities from our formal model.


Significance Trump and his immediate predecessors have made extensive use of powers granted in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to deploy armed force widely across the Middle East and North Africa. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives seeks to curtail this. For the administration, this is a direct challenge to its ability to rebuild deterrence, in an age of rising inter-state competition, through greater military capability and convincing rivals that it can and will be used. Impacts Trump will campaign electorally on rebuilding the US military and deterrence capability. The administration will continue ‘maximum pressure’ against Iran but avoid new highly provocative steps. Trump will seek to reinvigorate North Korea talks and push his Middle East peace deal, to boost re-election prospects. Congress, especially Democrats, will try to limit Trump’s foreign policy powers, unsuccessfully, without veto-proof majorities. Unless and until Trump is re-elected, US allies and adversaries will be less likely to bow to administration policy pressure.


The Forum ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Thomsen

Abstract How does the influence of party factions change over time? This article only begins to tackle this question by looking at which party caucuses newly elected members join. I focus on joining patterns in the current 115th Congress to shed light on which factions are more or less influential in Congress today. I show, first, that almost all incoming members joined an ideological faction when they entered office. Furthermore, the Republican Study Committee attracted the most incoming Republicans; the New Democratic Coalition and the Congressional Progressive Caucus attracted the most incoming Democrats. The moderate factions lagged behind the more conservative and liberal factions in the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively. These joining patterns of newly elected members have important implications for the current and future influence that factions can expect to have in the party and chamber.


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