Behind the Scenes

Chapter 5 looks at the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by senators on three bills debated and voted on in 2013: the debt-ceiling bill known commonly as “No Budget, No Pay,” the “Gang of Eight” comprehensive immigration reform bill, and an agriculture bill. It looks at interview data collected in 2013 from legislative directors for nineteen senators examining responses to how much time and effort legislators put into each bill and their overall satisfaction of the outcome. While conventional wisdom would expect to see moderates prioritize the No Budget No Pay Act and the immigration bill, spending most of their time and resources on these bills and report satisfaction with each bill’s final content and legislative process, I find that on average, moderate respondents were less likely to report satisfaction with the overall outcome of the legislative process, despite the time and effort put into the process.