Congressional Decision Making and the Separation of Powers

In: American political science review, Band 95, Heft 2, S. 361-378

Abstract

To what extent does the separation of powers affect congressional roll call voting behavior? To answer this question, I offer a strategic model of congressional decision making that asserts members of Congress pursue public policy goals when casting roll call votes. From the equilibrium predictions of a formal model, I generate testable hypotheses by computing the expected net amount of sophisticated (nonsincere) congressional behavior given changes in decision context. I test the predications of the theoretical model with data from all civil rights roll call votes from the 83d to the 102d Congress. The results demonstrate that both the other legislative chamber & the Supreme Court profoundly constrain House members & senators when casting roll call votes. This is strong evidence of the importance of policy outcomes to members of Congress when voting on the floor. 2 Tables, 7 Figures, 1 Appendix, 49 References. Adapted from the source document.