Domestic Agenda Setting, 1947-1994

This article examines domestic agenda setting in Washington between 1947 and 1994. It finds that House and Senate majority leaders have, over time, set increasingly more of this agenda. I examine the role of presidents and congressional committee chairs in domestic agenda setting, and I evaluate the success of presidential and congressional proposals within the legislative process. Recent changes in agendasetting patterns seem to be the product of a number of factors, including more frequent and polarized divided government, as well as changes in the formal rules of Congress and the ideological composition of the legislative parties.