ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the context of the “textbook Congress” and the electoral forces at work shaping member incentives that eventually led to some significant institutional changes during the 1960s-1970s. It explains why members of the Democratic majority would want to reform the House Rules Committee and how the electoral and institutional changes over time have shaped their incentives to do so. The chapter discusses the significance of the Rules Committee as a leadership institution and why party leaders have become increasingly reliant on special rules as a partisan tool to advantage the interests of the majority party and how the principal-agent model can be used to explain changes in their use over time. It addresses some theoretical expectations and empirical implications from the principal-agent model in terms of committee behavior, member voting behavior, factors affecting the likelihood a bill receives a restrictive rule, and the systematic linkage between special rules and enacted policies in the House and Senate.
