Setting the Legislative Agenda: The Dimensional Structure of Bill Cosponsoring and Floor Voting

Abstract

The shape of the legislative agenda varies through the legislative process. At the policy debate stage, where legislative proposals are introduced, packaged, and debated, members' bill cosponsoring patterns reveal a multidimensional agenda. At the decision stage on the legislative floor, members' voting patterns reveal a low-dimensional agenda. This article compares the dimensional structures of legislators' bill cosponsoring and floor voting activities during the 103rd and 104th Congresses. The analyses show that bill cosponsoring contains at least three and as many as five distinct dimensions, suggesting that pre-floor legislative activities play an important role in structuring the lines of conflict for floor decisions.