Too Weak to Govern: Majority Party Power and Appropriations in the US Senate

by Peter Hanson

Can today's gridlocked Senate still perform the vital role in lawmaking entrusted to it by the Constitution? Too Weak to Govern examines the ability of the Senate majority party to tame the unruly Senate floor and pass the federal budget. Drawing on rigorous analysis and interviews with Senate leaders, it shows how the majority party manipulates the passage of appropriations bills to create massive “omnibus” spending bills. Omnibus bills help the majority party to overcome trouble on the floor and pass a budget at the cost of reducing transparency, accountability and the opportunity for senators to participate in lawmaking. Too Weak to Govern challenges traditional accounts of parties in Congress by demonstrating that the Senate majority party has more power to control the chamber than believed and that it is likely to use this power when it is weak and struggling to meet its goals.

206 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2014

Reviews

[Kevin Kosar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why does Congress struggle to pass a budget and individual spending bills? Because Senate majorities are too slim, and when Republicans are the majority their ideological diversity makes it very hard for them to vote together and win. Democrats, meanwhile, hang together cohesively and when in the minority offer amendments that make Republicans take hard votes. Hence the recent habits of passing continuing resolutions and omnibuses, which can't be amended. It's a mess, for sure, and one not easily solved.