27 Jun 2017
Professors Bryan Jones, Sean Theriault, and Jonathan Lewallen argue that the current debate surrounding health care in the U.S. Senate is par for the course.
"The crafting of the American Health Care Act in the Senate — which will affect the lives of millions of Americans — is taking place with almost no public discussion. Not only have there been no committee hearings so far, but it is unlikely that we’ll see any committee deliberation whatsoever...
...We should not be surprised by the lack of Senate committee hearings on the AHCA. It is the culmination of a trend that stretches back to the 1970s. The three of us have studied congressional dysfunction, as evaluated by the changing nature of how Congress conducts its hearings. Compared to the 1970s, committees in both chambers today are spending markedly less time examining proposed solutions to the major policy problems confronting us."