Congress and the presidency

In this comprehensive and perceptive study, Michael Foley and John E. Owens argue that in the last three decades the ways in which Congress and the presidency operate and interact have changed in several significant respects. Adopting a distinctly institutional focus, Congress and the Presidency explains the nature of these changes and examines their consequences for the contemporary American political system. Foley and Owens direct attention to both bodies as co-equal institutions in a separated system. They examine both the historical development of the Congress and the presidency as separate institutions of American national government, as well as the changing relations between them. Taking into account important developments since the Republicans won control of Congress in 1994 and the advent of Newt Gingrich's 'Contract with America', the authors consider how the organisational designs of these representative and governing institutions have changed over time in response to internal pressures and external factors. The book locates the two institutions within the policymaking process and studies the varied and complex implications of 'the politics of separated powers'. . The authors emphasise the dynamism of America's foremost political institutions within a democratic system. They examine recent developments in relation to the wider context of United States politics and reassert the importance of institutions in understanding this unique political system.