Backdoor lawmaking : evading obstacles in the US Congress /
"Backdoor Lawmaking reveals how members of the US Congress use the federal bureaucracy as a backdoor for policymaking. Lawmakers pressure agencies to make policy changes in order to avoid obstacles in the legislative process. The book uses records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act i...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Oxford University Press,
[2023]
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| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "Backdoor Lawmaking reveals how members of the US Congress use the federal bureaucracy as a backdoor for policymaking. Lawmakers pressure agencies to make policy changes in order to avoid obstacles in the legislative process. The book uses records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act in qualitative and quantitative analyses to show how members of Congress are incorporating agency regulations into a broader strategy of policymaking that spans branches of government and which lawmakers are most effective at using this approach. Lawmakers use agency regulations as a substitute for legislative action, pressure agencies to delay and block the implementation of law until new legislation is passed, and work with agencies to draft legislation. The bureaucracy also offers lawmakers a discreet way to represent controversial interests outside of the formal constraints of Congress. The book considers the implications of its findings for democratic accountability and representation and assesses the normative tradeoffs: Inter-branch policymaking allows members of Congress to evade accountability and to bypass the lawmaking process established in the US Constitution. Yet, it may be critical for preserving democratic norms given the growth of administrative lawmaking"-- |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xviii, 347 pages) : illustrations |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780197670507 0197670504 9780197670521 0197670520 9780197670514 0197670512 |