Hitching a Ride: Omnibus Legislating in the U.S.Congress (Parliaments & Legislatures S.) - Softcover

Krutz, Glen S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814250718 ISBN 13: 9780814250716

Publisher: Ohio State University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Omnibus legislating is the controversial practice of combining disparate measures in one massive bill. Omnibus packages are "must-pass" bills because they have a nucleus that enjoys widespread support but they also contain a variety of often unrelated measures that are simply "hitching a ride". Why are omnibus bills employed? Why the increase in their use? Why do leaders attach certain bills to omnibus packages and not others? Glen Krutz addresses these and other questions in this original and insightful study of an important change in the legislative process.

Many view omnibus packages as political vehicles and therefore attribute their rise to politics, but Krutz finds that, whatever their political value, omnibus packages are institutionally efficient. Omnibus legislating improves congressional capability by providing a tool for circumventing the gridlock of committee turf wars and presidential veto threats.

In addition to furnishing a fascinating look at law-making, Hitching a Ride: Omnibus Legislating in the U.S. Congress provides a challenge to recent studies of congressional change that focus on political factors. Political and institutional factors together, Krutz argues, explain congressional evolution.

About this title

About the Author

Krutz is an assistant professor of political science at Arizona State Unviersity.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ohio State University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814250718
• ISBN 13: 9780814250716
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232