QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hardin, J. W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation

An In-Depth Look at Congressional Committee Jurisdictions Surrounding Health Issues

Congress plays an important role in shaping U.S. health care policy, and within Congress, committees play the lead policy-making role. To determine the range and extent of committee involvement on health issues, I examine nine health issue categories over a fifteen-year period (1979–1993) to discover how both "legislative" and "nonlegislative" committee jurisdictions differ across three dimensions: congressional chambers, committees within those chambers, and specific health issue categories. Then, to capture differences across a fourth dimension, time, I also calculate annual measures of jurisdiction "concentration" for legislative and nonlegislative jurisdictions. Together, the jurisdiction differences across the four dimensions provide a comprehensive view of congressional committee jurisdiction arrangements surrounding health issues. I find that the differences in jurisdiction across each dimension follow general patterns resulting from institution-specific factors (e.g., rules, norms) and from issue-specific factors (e.g., salience, complexity). Recognizing these dimensions and their respective patterns helps us understand the power that committees exercise over health issues.