Legislative Reorganization Act

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The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (also known as the Congressional Reorganization Act , entered into force on August 2, 1946) was the most extensive restructuring of the US Congress to date . The structure of the standing congress committees in force today is essentially based on this law.

background

The need to modernize the legislative process was already evident during the Great Depression of the 1930s and even more clearly during World War II . In these times of crisis, the legislature (Congress) was confronted with an unprecedented workload for which it was insufficiently equipped. Congress then gave a variety of tasks to the White House under President Franklin D. Rooseveltwhich led to a creeping erosion of his position of power in the legislative process and thus his reputation. The way in which the Congress works was presented as outdated: its traditions and, in particular, the resulting extremely long processing times for draft laws are unsuitable for meeting the requirements of the present day.

At the end of the war, a large majority in Congress was of the opinion that only a comprehensive reform could restore the old position of the two chambers of parliament. A key figure in the reform movement was Senator Robert La Follette Jr. of Wisconsin . In 1945 he took over the chairmanship of a joint, temporary congressional committee ( Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress ) together with the then Congressman and later Senator Mike Monroney from Oklahoma , which was supposed to develop proposals for restructuring. In 1946 the committee then presented an extensive catalog of measures, which were largely incorporated into the draft law.

Most important measures

  • Reduce the number of standing congressional committees
    • The number of Senate committees will be reduced from 33 to 15
    • The number of committees in the House of Representatives will be reduced from 48 to 19
    • Examples
      • In the newly emerging United States House Committee on House Administration , the tasks of the following committees to be dissolved will be combined:
        • House Committee on Enrolled Bills
        • House Committee on Elections
        • House Committee on Accounts
        • House Committee on the Disposition of Executive Papers
        • House Committee on Memorials
      • The Joint Committee on Printing replaces the previous separate committees in the Senate and House of Representatives
      • The House Committee of Military Affairs (German: "Military Committee") and the House Committee on Naval Affairs ( "Marine Committee") will be merged for Armed Services Committee (about "Armed Services Committee")
      • The House Committee on Education and the House Committee on Labor are merged to form the Committee on Education and Labor . Interestingly, this reversed the division of the committee that had been carried out in 1883.
  • More precise description of the responsibilities of the committees and resolution of overlaps
  • Reinforcement of the staff and provision of experts
    • Each of the remaining, reorganized committees will henceforth have four appropriately remunerated experts as a staff
    • The Legislative Reference Service (since 1970 Congressional Research Service ) will be significantly strengthened
  • Registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists in Congress
  • Improve oversight of the executive branch

A resolution to increase the annual salaries of congressmen was also smuggled into this bill: Instead of $ 10,000, the delegates received from now on $ 12,500 plus $ 2,500 allowance for expenses. In addition, MPs could now also acquire pension rights under the Civil Service Retirement Act .

adoption

Despite some resistance, the original legal text was finally passed largely unchanged by both chambers (Senate and House of Representatives). Democrats from the Southern states had geargwöhnt, reducing the number of committees on which they had been previously represented prominently, could endanger their position of power.

On August 2, 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the law into effect.

effects

The greatest success of the law was probably that from now on MPs and committees could fall back on staffs of experienced experts. This made it much easier for them to work on the increasingly complex laws and drafts. The reforms also improved the legislature's oversight of the executive .

The goals could not be achieved in other areas.

  • The reduction in the number of parliamentary committees was at least partially counteracted by the unexpected increase in the number of subcommittees that were not regulated by this law.
  • Lobbyists discovered loopholes and thus undermined the aims of the law.
  • The ambitious reform of budgeting failed completely and was withdrawn a few years later.

swell

  1. ^ Statement by the President Upon Signing the Legislative Reorganization Act

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