Lawmaking

Abstract

The goal of this essay is to present foundational and cutting‐edge research that has influenced how researchers study the lawmaking process within American politics. By assessing the most influential research on legislative politics to date, we are able to highlight the research that is moving the discipline forward. Specifically, we focus not only on the outcomes produced by the lawmaking process but also the institutional influences that shape what ultimately becomes law. Our discussion outlines how institutional rules and procedural context are important considerations in determining how legislative chambers and the executive interact to govern and create new laws. This is especially important as the polarization among the public and political elites continues to grow and reflects fluctuations in party divisions during the past century. These changes in the political context of each institution have created challenges in the lawmaking process, necessitating new and unorthodox procedures to deal with these difficulties as they arise. We also provide guidance in discussing new questions, which have not yet been fully addressed by scholars to date, as well as where to look for new sources of data that will help researchers begin to find answers to those questions. We believe that expanding upon existing research agendas will provide greater opportunities to learn more about the important role of both chambers and the executive in designing and implementing legislation.