Government by Committee: Reconciling Differences Between House and Senate Versions of a Bill
Once a bill has passed both the House and Senate, it becomes necessary to reconcile the differences between the two versions of bills. There is no requirement to hold a conference; in fact that is one of the ways the party in power may be able to ki...
Global Politics: Players on the Foreign Policy Stage
The lack of a clear direction in foreign policy is complicated by the fact that so many people are getting into the act. The president, assisted by the Secretary of State, has a clear advantage when it comes to diplomacy, national security, or armed...
Leader for a Nation: Factors Beyond a President's Control
When the American public assesses the president's job performance, cautions presidential scholar Sam Kernell, "we need to keep in mind that presidents don't really call the shots." Pressure groups, ideological differences within their own party, una...
Leader for a Nation: Legislative Responses to Executive Abuses
Congress rarely uses its power to impeach. More often, it elects to respond legislatively to executive abuses. The War Power Act, for example, came into play when Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait in the early 1990s and President Bush moved to interve...
Leader for a Nation: Beginning Days of a Presidency, The
Newly elected presidents are generally granted a brief honeymoon period in which to act without great resistance from Congress. In these early days, it is important to have a very clear plan, three or four critical goals the administration wants to ...
Power Imperative, The: Running the Show
Bureaucrats are often stereotyped as unaccountable because they are not easy to reach. Accountability, however, is much more subtle. It means being responsible to a number of constituencies beginning with the President and heads of the executive dep...
Leader for a Nation: Presidential End Runs
No member of Congress can compete with the ability of the president to get news attention. In recent years some presidents have elected to appeal to the American public for support of their policies rather than rely on their ability to bargain with ...