Washington At Work: Back Rooms and Clean Air

by Richard E. Cohen

WASHINGTON AT WORK brings to life the modern policy-making process of the United States government through a thought-provoking case study of the 1990 Clean Air Act. The author's extensive hands-on experience is the foundation for the first-hand reporting and observations, creating an exceptionally well-informed book.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 1994

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, in-depth case study of the politics surrounding the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1990. Richard Cohen examines the case from several perspectives: 1) The role of individual politicians, their background, ideology, policy-preferences, and electoral ambitions; 2) Congressional process. The book is subtitled "Back Rooms", and the fact that most of the bargaining took place "behind closed doors" out of the sight of media and public was a key influence on the process; 3) Congressional-Presidential relations. The prospects for stricter air pollution standards waxed and waned as presidents with different inclinations came and went; 4) Non-governmental actors. While their roles were of varying influence, non-state actors like lobbyists, unions, and corporations are also important players in this drama, with energy and transport industries and environmentalists taking the biggest parts. Surprisingly, the mass media does not play a large part in the story, as I would have thought. This was still the days before cable news and the Internet, but TV networks and major newspapers occupied those spaces and yet they are only briefly evident. The public, as Cohen notes, only really noticed the Clean Air Act at the beginning (proposals and election pledges) and at the end (signing the bill into law) of the process.