The analysis of committee power: An application to senate voting on the minimum wage

Abstract

The disproportionate influence of standing committees on congressional outcomes is an often-noted empirical regularity in American politics, and a large body of theoretical and empirical research has sought to identify the determinants of "committee influence," "committee power," or "deference to committees." This paper does not attempt to resolve issues of when and why committee power exists. Rather, it focuses on a prerequisite to the resolution of such issues: How can committee power be assessed empirically?

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