375,848 research outputs found

    Community Structure in the United States House of Representatives

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    We investigate the networks of committee and subcommittee assignments in the United States House of Representatives from the 101st--108th Congresses, with the committees connected by ``interlocks'' or common membership. We examine the community structure in these networks using several methods, revealing strong links between certain committees as well as an intrinsic hierarchical structure in the House as a whole. We identify structural changes, including additional hierarchical levels and higher modularity, resulting from the 1994 election, in which the Republican party earned majority status in the House for the first time in more than forty years. We also combine our network approach with analysis of roll call votes using singular value decomposition to uncover correlations between the political and organizational structure of House committees.Comment: 44 pages, 13 figures (some with multiple parts and most in color), 9 tables, to appear in Physica A; new figures and revised discussion (including extra introductory material) for this versio

    Community Structure in Congressional Cosponsorship Networks

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    We study the United States Congress by constructing networks between Members of Congress based on the legislation that they cosponsor. Using the concept of modularity, we identify the community structure of Congressmen, as connected via sponsorship/cosponsorship of the same legislation, to investigate the collaborative communities of legislators in both chambers of Congress. This analysis yields an explicit and conceptually clear measure of political polarization, demonstrating a sharp increase in partisan polarization which preceded and then culminated in the 104th Congress (1995-1996), when Republicans took control of both chambers. Although polarization has since waned in the U.S. Senate, it remains at historically high levels in the House of Representatives.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures (some with multiple parts), to appear in Physica A; additional background info and explanations added from last versio

    Mining and Analyzing the Italian Parliament: Party Structure and Evolution

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    The roll calls of the Italian Parliament in the XVI legislature are studied by employing multidimensional scaling, hierarchical clustering, and network analysis. In order to detect changes in voting behavior, the roll calls have been divided in seven periods of six months each. All the methods employed pointed out an increasing fragmentation of the political parties endorsing the previous government that culminated in its downfall. By using the concept of modularity at different resolution levels, we identify the community structure of Parliament and its evolution in each of the considered time periods. The analysis performed revealed as a valuable tool in detecting trends and drifts of Parliamentarians. It showed its effectiveness at identifying political parties and at providing insights on the temporal evolution of groups and their cohesiveness, without having at disposal any knowledge about political membership of Representatives.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figure

    Analyzing Ideological Communities in Congressional Voting Networks

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    We here study the behavior of political party members aiming at identifying how ideological communities are created and evolve over time in diverse (fragmented and non-fragmented) party systems. Using public voting data of both Brazil and the US, we propose a methodology to identify and characterize ideological communities, their member polarization, and how such communities evolve over time, covering a 15-year period. Our results reveal very distinct patterns across the two case studies, in terms of both structural and dynamic properties

    National Register Nomination: the French House, 1287 Hope Street Bristol, Rhode Island 02809

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    This document serves as a National Register Nomination for the French House located at 1287 Hope Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. The French House is nominated under Criterion B for its association with Col. George T. French Esq., and Criterion C for its contribution to the Stick style of architecture in Bristol, Rhode Island. Built in 1881, the French House is a Vernacular Stick style cottage and gains its local significance under Criterion B for its relationship and association with Col. George T. French Esq., French was a lawyer, politician, patriot, and former Brown University student who dedicated his life to being a local influence on the Town of Bristol and the State of Rhode Island. French contributed to the development of the State of Rhode Island through his professional career of being a member on the Rhode Island Bar (1875-1885), a member of the House of Representatives, and a member of the Rhode Island General Assembly (1883-1885). French’s life was dedicated to the people of Bristol and the State of Rhode Island while serving on the General Assembly under Governor Augustus O. Bourne (1883-1885). French’s involvement in the policymaking and planning of the Bourne Amendment, which was added to Rhode Island’s Constitution, declared the removal of the real estate requirement for voting in state elections imposed in 1843 against naturalized citizens. This allowed citizens that did not own property to have the right to vote. This significant amendment highlighted French’s professional career as a politician because it altered the lives of countless naturalized citizens who previously were not entitled the right to vote in any state elections. This set the precedent for the future of democracy in the United States of America. In addition to being a politician and lawyer, French was a respected representative of the community. Bristol, Rhode Island is famed for having the oldest 4th of July Celebration in the United States of America. Since 1776, Bristol has been celebrating the Declaration of Independence, and for the 200th Bristol 4th of July Celebration in 1880 Samuel P. Colt acted as the chair of the planning committee. Since 1785, Patriot Speakers or the Speaker of the Day is chosen to speak to the entire community to launch the community celebration of the 4th of July. This position is reserved for respected and influential figures in the community. In 1882, the chosen 97th Patriotic Speaker was none other than Col. George T. French. This honor was indicative of French’s popularity and familiarity in the Bristol community. More recent Patriotic Speakers include nationally recognizable political figures such as Claiborne Pell, the namesake for the Claiborne Pell Bridge (Newport Bridge), and Ira C. Magazine, President William Clinton’s Senior Advisor Policymaker. The French House is nominated under Criterion C for its significance as a representation of Late Victorian Architecture in Bristol. Built in 1881, by local builder William Hall of Warren, Rhode Island, the French House is a Victorian cottage built in the Stick style as illustrated by its asymmetrical form, multiple paned window sash, spacious verandah decorated with simple diagonal brackets, steeply pitched gable roofs with intersecting cross gables, king posts and struts, and corbeled chimneys. The French House although does not have any applied high-style stick-work, yet characterizes an interpretation of ornamentation through its overall architectural elements, and massing. The Stick style, even at a vernacular level, is not prevalent in Bristol, making the French House one of the few, if not the only Stick style residential architecture in the town. The French House has retained most of its historic integrity and despite its neglected state, the house represents a style of architecture that scarcity deems it worthy of recognition and preservation

    “Settling the Question: Did Bank Settlement Agreements Subvert Congressional Appropriations Powers?” : Hearing Before The United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, 114th Congress

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    The Constitution provides: ―No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law . . . . This is not a mere technical provision but rather a fundamental element of constitutional structure. It sounds, first, in democracy, reflecting the deep constitutional principle that the power of the purse should be vested in the most representative branch. Every dollar appropriated from the Treasury may represent a dollar of taxes, and so this principle applies to both taxing and spending

    A Citizen's Guide to Redistricting

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    Provides a detailed overview of states' rules and processes for redrawing federal, state, and local legislative districts. Illustrates possible motives behind redistricting, effects on elections, implications for legislation, and reform recommendations

    Unions Implementing Managerial Techniques

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    [Excerpt] National unions are gradually adopting the sophisticated management selection and training practices of business and government but employment and promotion decisions remain essentially political
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