Congressional Decisionmaking Project

Funded by the John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress and the Smith Richardson Foundation, this project will ask how Congress and the Presidency can strengthen their capacity to address policy questions that have significant long-term impacts on conditions of great uncertainty.

The project was formally launched in September 2006, led by NYU Wagner professor and former Brookings Institution Scholar Dr. Paul Light. The project will focus on improving Congress' ability to make long-consequence decisions for the 21st Century, and will run through the fall of 2008. The project's Advisory Group of current and former Members of Congress also guide the project and begin lending their first-hand, knowledgeable advice to our endeavor.

The first conference was held in December 2006, and opened by former Senator Tom Daschle and former Representative Bill Frenzel. Three congressional scholars, G. Calvin Mackenzie of Colby College, Sarah Binder of the George Washington University and the Brookings Institution, and James Dewar of RAND, presented papers dealing with Congress' difficulties in legislating for the future, what institutional problems might contribute to these difficulties, and what possible solutions might exist for dealing with these issues. These papers can be found below.

This conference will be followed by the release of a series of policy papers that will deal with specific issues such as Medicare, Social Security, global warming, etc.-that demonstrate the difficulties of legislating into the future. To culminate the project, we will issue a set of recommendations on how to change Congress to make it better able to make important long-term decisions.

Publications

2007

Defense Planning

• Davis, Paul K. (December 2007) "Rethinking Defense Planning." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress.
• Mayer, Kenneth R. (December 2007) "The Base Realignment and Closure Process: Is it Possible to Make Rational Policy? ." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress.
• O'Hanlon, Michael. (December 2007) "The Politics of Defense Planning." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress.

Social Security Policy

• Furman, Jason. (September 2007) "Coping with Demographic Uncertainty." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 2.
• Galston, William A. (September 2007) "Why President Bush's 2005 Social Security Initiative Failed and What It Means for the Future of the Program." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 1.
• Popper, Steven W. (September 2007) "Adapting Social Security Policy for the Long Term." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 3.

Climate Policy

• Rabe, Barry (March 2007) "Can Congress Govern the Climate?." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 1.
• Lempert, Robert. (March 2007) "Creating Constituencies for Long-Term, Radical Change." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 2.
• Fuerth, Leon. (March 2007) "Congress and the Climate Crisis: A Case for Forward Engagement." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 3.

2006

• Light, Paul C. (September 2006) "Public Opinion Toward Legislating for the Future." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 1.

• Mackenzie, G. Calvin. (December 2006) "Congressional Reform in the Post-War Era: A Brief History and Some Lessons.." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 2.
• Binder, Sarah. (December 2006) "Can Congress Legislate for the Future?." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 3.
• Dewar, James A. (December 2006) "Improving Legislation on Long-Range Issues." John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress: Research Brief 4.