Agenda Crossover updates our understanding of state delegations, exploring how they influence representation and responsiveness in Congress today. The theory of agenda crossover posits that members of the House and Senate have much to gain from monitoring the legislative agendas of other members of the delegation, especially those in the opposite chamber. Treul clearly demonstrates that individual members of delegations still utilize their fellow delegates in order to help them respond to constituents and enhance their own electoral success. It is argued that on certain issues - particularly the ones most relevant to a state's economy - members of Congress are willing to set aside partisan differences and work across the aisle. In this way, these bicameral connections between members of a state delegation - even across party lines - can, at times, trump the power of party in Congress.
Author(s): Sarah A. Treul
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 185
City: Cambridge
Cover
Half-title
Title page
Copyright information
Dedication
Table of contents
List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgments
1 State Delegations in Congress
The Role of Today's Delegation
State Delegations, Representation, and Agenda Crossover
Representation and Responsiveness in State Delegations
Tri-Member Representation
Agenda Crossover in State Delegations
Plan for the Book
2 A History of State Delegations
History of State Delegations
The Revolutionary War
The Constitutional Convention
The Doctrine of States’ Rights
State Delegations in the 20th Century
Delegation Voting
Committee Assignments in Delegations
State Delegation Size and Partisanship
State Delegation Behavior Today
State Size and Delegation Influence
State Size
Conclusion
3 Legislative Behavior in the House
House Delegation Expectations
Measuring Legislative Behavior in the House
Roll Calls and Legislative Behavior
Agenda Formation and Legislative Behavior
Using Legislative Agendas to Analyze Delegation Behavior
Conceptualizing Legislative Agendas
Analyzing Legislative Agendas in the House
Conclusion
4 State Delegations and Legislative Behavior in the Senate
Measuring Legislative Behavior in the Senate
Roll Calls and Legislative Behavior
Agenda Formation and Legislative Behavior
Bill Sponsorship
Conclusion
Building Toward a Theory of Agenda Crossover
Missouri: A Delegation with Shifting Partisanship
Pennsylvania: A Consistently Split Delegation
5 Agenda Crossover in the U.S. Congress
Agenda Crossover Expectations in the House and Senate
Agenda Crossover Expectations in the Senate
Agenda Crossover Expectations in the House
Legislative Agendas and Bill Sponsorship
Similar Sponsorship within a Congress
Analyzing Agenda Crossover
Agenda Crossover in the House
Agenda Crossover in the Senate
Agenda Crossover and Senate Electoral Success
Agenda Crossover in At-Large States
Conclusion
6 Rethinking State Delegations in Congress
The Origins of and Changes in State Delegations
Broadening our Conception of State Delegations
Normative Consequences of Agenda Crossover
Agenda Crossover, Representation, and Bicameralism
Appendix A Interviews
Conducting the Interviews
Interview Structure
Appendix B Wisconsin's Unwritten Rule
Bibliography
Index
