How Committee Staffers Clear the Runway for Legislative Action in Congress

Description

Admittedly, the audience at this spring’s “The State of Congressional Capacity Conference” was a receptive one. Congressional scholars from across the country gathered and presented research asking and answering questions as to whether Congress has the capacity — the technology, staff, and other internal resources — to effectively do its job in our system of separated powers. As one might expect from such a workshop, there was almost unanimous agreement among attendees that Congress has not invested in itself nearly enough to play the role expected of it.

Our contribution to the conference aligns with these expectations, focusing specifically on committee staff within the House of Representatives from 2001-2016. Our research shows that committees during this period are more successful in producing legislative outputs — reporting important legislation, voting out substantive bills that ultimately pass the chamber, and holding committee hearings — when they have more staff support. The bumper sticker version: More staff = more legislative outputs in committees.

But wait…there’s more!