The Disappearing Conference Committee: The Use of Procedures by Minority Coalitions to Prevent Conferencing

Abstract

Despite the importance of post-passage bargaining for legislative outcomes, little is known about the factors that lead to a conference committee. While the conventional wisdom claims conferences are used to resolve differences on important or complicated legislation, the theory developed here claims that coalition size and chamber rules are increasingly important determinants of conferencing. The empirical results demonstrate that post-passage bargaining and conferencing depend on the ability of the coalition within each chamber to overcome procedural hurdles. This has important implications for post-passage bargaining in an age of narrow, partisan coalitions. While the chambers may prefer conferencing to resolve their differences, minority coalitions are now willing to block the motions necessary to conference, forcing amendment trading on many bills.