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In the past thirty years, Congress has dramatically changed its response
to unpopular deficit spending. While the landmark Congressional Budget Act of
1974 tried to increase congressional budgeting powers, new budget processes
created in the 1980s and 1990s were all explicitly designed to weaken member,
majority, and institutional budgeting prerogatives. These later reforms shared
the premise that Congress cannot naturally forge balanced budgets without new
automatic mechanisms and enhanced presidential oversight. So Democratic
majorities in Congress gave new budgeting powers to Presidents Reagan and Bush,
and then Republicans did the same for President Clinton.
Passing the Buck examines how Congress is increasing delegation of a wide variety of powers to the president in recent years. Jasmine Farrier assesses why institutional ambition in the early 1970s turned into institutional ambivalence about whether Congress is equipped to handle its constitutional duties.
Jasmine Farrier is assistant professor of political
science at the University of Louisville.
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| Reviews:"Farrier sets out to understand why Congress 'tells the country that it is not well suited to making tough decisions on major policy questions.' . . . A highly informative read."--Political Science Quarterly
"An excellent account of the political tensions inherent in the modern congressional budget process. Highly recommended."--Choice
"While congressional delegation
and abdication, particularly in the area of war powers, has long been noted,
Farrier's research provides evidence that the problem extends into other
congressional prerogatives as well."--APSA Legislative Studies Section
Newsletter
Well written, comprehensive, and
clear in her approach. Policymakers, policy analysts, students, academics, and
researchers interested in the federal budget process will benefit from reading
this book."--Perspectives on Political Science
"A timely and compelling example of first-rate scholarship."--Lawrence C.
Dodd
"A comprehensive and important study of how Congress has reformed the budget
process over the past several decades. Passing the Buck offers an
informative perspective on the formal changes that have been made in the
congressional budget process."--Daniel Palazzolo, author of The Speaker and
the Budget: Leadership in the Post-Reform House of Representatives
"Well written and researched and raises interesting questions about delegation of authority in congressional research, as well as the history of congressional budgeting."--Perspectives on Politics
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