Holding the Executive to Account in the 21st Century: lessons from the US Congress and the UK House of Commons

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

In recent years legislative oversight of executive behavior has become a key topic of popular and media concern on both sides of the Atlantic. For instance, how far can and should congressional committees demand oversight of the Presidency? How can Parliament best scrutinize the executive while it is conducting Brexit negotiations? How can legislatures do so in an era of ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth’ politics? Similarly, questions about the limits of executive power have also come to the fore. How untouchable is the convention that the executive should control the British parliamentary timetable? Does the US President have the power to issue executive orders to implement policy when frustrated by Congress legislatively? This panel puts executive-legislature relations in comparative perspective by examining the recent experience of the US Congress and the UK Parliament.

Sub Unit

• APSA Panels and All Meetings and Receptions

Cosponsor

• DIVISION 22: Legislative Studies

Individual Presentations

• Questioning Scrutiny: The Effect of Question Time on Citizen Efficacy and Trust in Government - Alan Convery, University of Edinburgh; David CW Parker, Montana State University, Bozeman; Pavielle Haines, University of Denver

• Scenes of Scrutiny: How Evidence Practices Shape Oversight Capacity in the UK House of Commons - Marc Geddes, University of Edinburgh

• Agency Independence and Compliance with Administrative Procedures: (Not) Providing Information under the Congressional Review Act - Jennifer L. Selin, University of Missouri, Columbia

• Well Advised or Politically Informed? How Congress Directs Program Evaluation and Oversight - Cody Drolc, University of Missouri

• Promoting Parliamentary Oversight through Mini-Publics: An Analysis of UK Cases - Stephen Elstub, Newcastle University

Chairs

• Marc Geddes University of Edinburgh

• Jennifer L. Selin University of Missouri, Columbia

Discussants

• Jennifer L. Selin University of Missouri, Columbia

• Marc Geddes University of Edinburgh