Word: chairmen
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...rebellion in the House was directed at one of the most encrusted of all congressional institutions: the seniority system, under which committee chairmen have long been selected and automatically reaffirmed at each session, solely on the basis of their length of service in office. In a confused series of events, no fewer than four of the arbitrary elderly chairmen of House committees were at least temporarily deposed. Although two were fighting to regain their posts, and no successor was certain of approval in any of the four positions, the action jolted the leaders of all 21 House committees into...
...Hill that newcomers never dared seek before. Since Albert and the leadership have made caucus king once again, the freshmen are aware of the weight their numbers carry. As long as they agree among themselves, what they say goes. They have even summoned the once imperious committee chairmen to appear before them one by one to state their position on the party program. If the chairmen try to behave with their traditional independence and ignore party instructions, they risk being removed. Such a strengthening of the opposition party means a rougher scrap for Ford on the Hill...
Almost suicidally, Mills forfeited any real fight. Instead of staying in Washington to rally the support of other influential chairmen and senior Ways and Means members, he went to Boston for a highly public weekend visit with his celebrated Tidal Basin cohort...
...Means, the caucus voted to give Albert authority to name members of the House Rules Committee, a key group in getting legislation moving. The caucus also decided that Democrats should hold two-thirds plus one of the seats on each committee, and in a further warning to entrenched chairmen, the caucus made heads of House Appropriations subcommittees subject to its approval...
...changes do not necessarily portend a runaway gush of liberal legislation. Speaker Albert has so far not shown any dynamic leadership for pushing such bills or for taking full advantage of his potential power. Senior and more conservative Democrats still have practical influence as chairmen of many committees. Yet the changes, coupled with an increasingly liberal Senate, suggest that Congress will sharply challenge President Ford's view of desirable legislation. Even without the caucus reforms, Congress has already overridden four Ford vetoes-only one less than throughout the 5% Nixon years...