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The House Appropriations Committee as a Political System: The Problem of Integration

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  • Fenno, Richard F.

Abstract

Studies of Congress by political scientists have produced a time-tested consensus on the very considerable power and autonomy of Congressional committees. Because of these two related characteristics, it makes empirical and analytical sense to treat the Congressional committee as a discrete unit for analysis. This paper conceives of the committee as a political system (or, more accurately as a political subsystem) faced with a number of basic problems which it must solve in order to achieve its goals and maintain itself. Generally speaking these functional problems pertain to the environmental and the internal relations of the committee. This study is concerned almost exclusively with the internal problems of the committee and particularly with the problem of self-integration. It describes how one congressional committee—The Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives—has dealt with this problem in the period 1947–1961. Its purpose is to add to our understanding of appropriations politics in Congress and to suggest the usefulness of this type of analysis for studying the activities of any congressional committee.

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  • Fenno, Richard F., 1962. "The House Appropriations Committee as a Political System: The Problem of Integration," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(2), pages 310-324, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:56:y:1962:i:02:p:310-324_07
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    Cited by:

    1. Otto Davis & M. Dempster & Aaron Wildavsky, 1966. "On the process of budgeting: An empirical study of congressional appropriation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 63-132, December.
    2. Phuong Nguyen-Hoang & Ryan Yeung & Alexander Bogin, 2014. "No Base Left Behind," Public Finance Review, , vol. 42(4), pages 439-465, July.
    3. Kristin Taylor & Marjorie Sarbaugh‐Thompson & Steven Betz, 2021. "State legislative committee deliberations: Why some issues are difficult and where state legislators turn for help," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2863-2880, November.
    4. Edward J. Laurance, 1976. "The Changing Role of Congress in Defense Policy-Making," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 20(2), pages 213-252, June.

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