ABSTRACT
The president must decide what to do with the advice given. There are several possible outcomes in regard to recommendations: either the president supports the recommendations by directing administrative action and/or by supporting legislation, or he does nothing; changes are made in administrative procedures, or they are not made; legislation either is passed or is not passed. Presidential success in getting congress to pass determine the degree to which the enacted legislation matches the desires of the president. In the case of seventy-four reports, the president acknowledged the recommendations with at least an official statement. Twenty-one of the commission’s reports were followed by presidential support and both administrative change and legislation enactment. The high-demand commissions indicate higher levels of effort in terms of duration, staff size, data gathering, and the number of recommendations made. Assuming that decision costs are related to the coalitions achieved within the commissions, only the number of dissenters appears to have any association with presidential response.
