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Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed airport screeners' role in enforcing aviation security, focusing on: (1) the causes of screener performance problems in detecting threat objects; (2) the status of efforts being made by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address these causes; and (3) the screening practices in five other countries as compared with the United States."

Interest groups cannot enforce contracts with legislators to work in their favor since fee-for-service agreements would be considered bribery. When such contracts are not available, a system of specialized, standing committees can provide a second-best way to maximize contributions, since such a system facilitates repeated interactions and reputational development between PACs and members of the relevant committees. Using data on PAC contributions by competing financial services interests to members of the House Banking Committee, we find evidence consistent with key implications of our model of committees as reputational-development devises. We then interpret important episodes in the evolution and development of the committee system during the twentieth century from the perspective of our theory. We focus on the revolt against House Speaker Cannon, which resulted in the birth of the modern committee system, and the post-Watergate reforms. We also consider broader implications of this approach for analyzing term limits, corruption, and party strength. JEL classifications: D72, D78, G28.

THE POLITICAL ARENA HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY FOR BLACKS IN THE LAST 25 YEARS. BLACKS, IN THE SOUTH, NOW REGISTER TO VOTE IN PERCENTAGES COMPARABLE TO WHITES, AND THE OVERALL PARTICIPATION LEVEL OF BLACKS ACTUALLY EXCEEDS THAT OF WHITES IF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS DIFFERENCES ARE CONTROLLED (SEE FEAGIN AND HAHN 1970; VERBA AND NIE 1972). IT IS HARDLY ARGUABLE THAT POLITICAL MOBILIZATION HAS BROUGHT BLACKS SUBSTANTIAL UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE SPECIFIC MANNER IN WHICH THE CONCERNS, DESIRES, AND GOALS OF BLACK CONSTITUENTS ARE TRANSLATED INTO PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BRIEF STUDY IS TO IMPROVE STANDING OF THIS TRANSLATION.

A report on the 2006 presidential & congressional elections in Ecuador maintains that the results indicate a definite turn to the left. The surprise victory of young economist Rafael Correa in the runoff presidential election with billionaire Alvaro Noboa raises questions about whether Correa's "Citizens Revolution" will be effective in light of Ecuador's fragmented party system & unstable political alliances in Congress. An overview of Ecuador's volatile political history since the transition to civilian rule in 1979 is followed by a description of the electoral & party systems. Special attention is called to Correa's campaign as a political "outsider" who denounced neo-liberal policies & government corruption while promoting protectionist & nationalist economic policies. The election results confirmed the continuing decline in support for long-standing, traditional parties. Prospects for the future are discussed, especially in relation to challenges faced by President Correa in his attempt to fulfill his promise to convoke a constituent assembly to write a new constitution. Tables, References. J. Lindroth

Hypothesizes that US Congressional members from certain kinds of electoral contexts -- constituencies where the president's, or their own, electoral standing is in doubt are likely to vary their support for the president with changes in his approval rating. Analysis of patterns of presidential support scores for members of Congress 1977-1991 do not confirm this specific hypotheses; however, it is shown that the electoral context from which a legislator emerges does shape his or her responsiveness to changes in national presidential approval. 6 Tables, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.

A panel of three D.C. Circuit judges rejected the House Judiciary Committee's request for testimony from Don McGahn, former White House Counsel, finding that the Committee lacked Article III standing to enforce a congressional subpoena in federal court. Framing the issue as one of separation of powers, the court declined to intervene in what it described as a purely political dispute between the executive and legislative branches. The ruling was a significant setback for the House in their efforts to force the Trump administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas and to yield to Congressional oversight more generally. Interestingly, in March, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the three-judge panel's decision and opted to hold a rehearing en banc on April 28, 2020. Despite court proceedings around the country being delayed as a result of COVID-19, it is expected that this hearing will go forward as planned. This article looks at what we can expect to see in that hearing and what impact a decision could have.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, focusing on: (1) the problem areas that currently pose the greatest risk to the SSI program; (2) the Social Security Administration's (SSA) recent efforts to improve the SSI program; and (3) additional actions that should be taken."

"Although the United States won the race to the moon, the Soviets were far more active in space than Americans during the decade that followed. By the 1980s, some space experts feared the United States was in danger of being surpassed in space, including dual-use systems that might be employed offensively in a military confrontation. A few experts, looking ahead, recommended a space force within roughly two decades. Standing up Space Force is organized chronologically by presidential administration, beginning in the middle of the Clinton years and progressing through the Trump administration. During the Clinton and George W. Bush years, the move to national security space was incremental. The Obama presidency witnessed the rise of New Space entrepreneurs whose impressive space activities facilitated their initial partnering with U.S. government National Security Space (NSS) missions helping the United States keep pace with China and Russia. During the Trump administration, all necessary elements finally came together - most significantly, presidential-congressional leadership and bipartisan support - to eventually produce the fiscal 2020 national defense authorization act (NDAA). Because the NDAA authorized and provided for the Space Force, when the President signed the defense bill on 20 December 2019, at the same moment he officially established the nation's sixth armed service"--

When I was looking for a quotation to garnish the introduction to my
doctoral dissertation on Senate committees, I turned, like hundreds
of graduate students before and since, to Woodrow Wilson's
Congressional Government. "Congress in session
is Congress on public exhibition," he wrote (1885) and I quoted
(1972), "whilst Congress in its committee-rooms is Congress at
work." But the book deserves better than simply to be mined for
quotations. As Wilson's doctoral dissertation, it offers insights
into his developing political thought. It illumines the operations
of the national government during what was indeed a period of
congressional and standing-committee ascendancy, although Wilson's
account was neither objective nor totally reliable. And it prompts
reflection on certain recurring dilemmas in the practice of American
democracy. This essay is adapted
from a presentation at the Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars, November 14, 2005.