The Politics of Obstruction: Republican Holds in the U.S. Senate. Issue 2 (May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Howard, Nicholas O.; Roberts, Jason M.
• Is Part Of: Legislative studies quarterly. Volume 40:Issue 2(2015:May)
• Page Start: 273
• Page End: 294
• Publication Date: 2015-05
• Subjects: Legislative bodies -- Periodicals; Parlement; Procédure législative; Système parlementaire; Étude comparée (Descripteur de forme); Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 328
• DOI: 10.1111/lsq.12076
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0362-9805

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>A defining feature of the modern US Senate is obstruction. Almost all pieces of legislation considered in the Senate are affected either directly or indirectly by obstruction. Obstruction takes many forms in the modern Senate, but one of the most prevalent, yet least studied, is the hold. Using a newly created dataset on Republican Senate holds, we cast light on this important practice. Our results suggest that a variety of factors including timing, party status, and a senator's voting record are related to both the prevalence of holds and the success of legislation subject to holds in the Senate.</p> </abstract>