Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Rieselbach (Indiana Univ.) provides a detailed account of reforms that have transformed congressional practices and procedures during the last two decades. After elucidating the causes of these reforms by showing that the Congress of the 1950s and 1960s was less than "ideal" in terms of the "values" of "responsibility, responsiveness and accountability," he delineates the "major" congressional reforms adopted in the 1970s and discusses their impact. Rieselbach shows that reforms designed to enhance one value usually have "costs in terms of another." He assesses the reforms that Congress is currently considering and proposes a "pragmatic vision of the future Congress." Based "on the most successful reforms of the 1970s and the most promising proposals of the 1990s," this vision, "majoritarian democracy," aims at "an appropriate combination of congressional responsibility, responsiveness, and accountability." This well-written and carefully documented work will serve as a good introduction to the forces that have converged to produce "the postreform Congress." Recommended for all undergraduate collections. G. L. Malecha; University of Portland