Unorthodox Lawmaking : New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress

This fifth edition updates the book through to the end of the 113th Congress. Sinclair incorporates new examples and new case studies throughout, including the budget battles between President Obama and the House of Representatives and failed immigration reform bills.

"Barbara Sinclair does an excellent job of showing how contemporary lawmaking departs from the traditional legislative process. I can′t imagine teaching a course on Congress without this text—it’s absolutely indispensable."

—Philip Klinkner, Hamilton College

Most major measures wind their way through the contemporary Congress in what Barbara Sinclair has dubbed "unorthodox lawmaking." In this much-anticipated Fifth Edition of Unorthodox Lawmaking, Sinclair explores the full range of special procedures and processes that make up Congress’s work, as well as the reasons these unconventional routes evolved. The author introduces students to the intricacies of Congress and provides the tools to assess the relative successes and limitations of the legislative process.

This dramatically revised Fifth Edition incorporates a wealth of new cases and examples to illustrate the changes occurring in congressional process. Two entirely new case study chapters highlight Sinclair’s fresh analysis and the book is now introduced by a new foreword from noted scholar and teacher, Bruce I. Oppenheimer, reflecting on this book and Barbara Sinclair’s significant mark on the study of Congress.