The modern Congress is a complex institution with committees, subcommittees, party organizations, floor rules and procedures, and staffs working in both D.C. and district offices. None of these institutional adaptations is required by the Constitution and yet there they are. Compare the relative importance and influence of each of these institutional appendages in 1950 with their relative importance and influence today. What caused changes in these institutions? Is today’s Congress more or less responsive to popular demands than 50 years ago? Is today’s Congress more or less capable of rapid action?
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