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Majority Party Leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1977–96: Speakers, Committee Assignments, and Institutional Context
Author(s) -
Mason John Lyman
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/0038-4941.00043
Subject(s) - caucus , house of representatives , context (archaeology) , ideology , political science , public administration , public relations , politics , law , paleontology , biology
Objective . This paper describes and explains the presence of variousstrategies used by party leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives to increase cohesion among members of the majority party. Methods . Logistic regression analysis is performed on assignments to the most prestigious committees from the 95th through the 104th Congresses. Results . Leaders are likely to reward loyal members, to favor no ideological wing of the majority party, and to protect—on occasion—the vulnerable members of the caucus. Conclusions . The implementation of these strategies varies according to short‐term changes in the institutional context of the majority party.