How Policy Content Influences Effective Lawmaking

• In Event: The Causes and Consequences of Lawmaking Effectiveness in Congress (Pre-Recorded)

Abstract

Do effective lawmakers write substantially different bills than do ineffective lawmakers? And, if so, how does the nature of the bills’ policy content influence their paths forward into law? In this paper, we combine Lauterbach’s (2020) measures of policy content with Volden and Wiseman’s (2014) Legislative Effectiveness Scores. We assess whether the policy content of legislation differs across members of Congress – effective vs. ineffective lawmakers, chairs vs. rank-and-file members, policy specialists vs. generalists, partisans vs. bipartisan lawmakers – in meaningful ways. We then examine the extent to which policy content coupled with bill sponsors’ approaches to lawmaking and institutional positions helps to explain which bills are more successful at each stage of the lawmaking process – from action in committee, to passing the House, to becoming law.

Authors

• Erinn K Lauterbach, University of Virginia

• Craig Volden, University of Virginia

• Alan E. Wiseman, Vanderbilt University