Congressional Representatives Research Articles

Downsizing democracy: how America sidelined its citizens and privatized its public

In the 19th century, America was exceptional for the vitality of its democratic institutions, particularly political parties. When citizens wanted change, they mobilized as political groups to pressure their congressional representatives or they made their power felt at the ballot box. Government, in turn, depended on the citizenry to staff public agencies, serve in the armed services, and provide funds in time of war through the purchase of bonds. Over the course of the 20th century, however, the nature of American democracy transformed so thoroughly that in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, President George W. Bush - elected by less than a quarter of eligible voters - told Americans that the best way they could help their country was to shop and travel while the government conducted a remote war. In this text, Matthew A. Crenson and Benjamin Ginsberg describe how the powerful idea of a collective citizenry has given way to a concept of personal, autonomous democracy, in which political change is effected through litigation, lobbying, and term limits, rather than active participation in the political process. Mandatory taxes have replaced bonds as a means to fund military operations, career civil servants have replaced volunteers in the allocation of public services, and an elite, professional soldier has replaced the citizen-soldier. With citizens pushed to the periphery of political life, narrow special interest groups from across the political spectrum - largely composed of faceless members drawn from extended mailing lists - have come to dominate state and federal decision-making. In the closing decade of the last century, this trend only intensified as the federal government, taking a cue from business management practices, rethought its relationship to its citizens as one of a provider of goods and services to individual customers.

AMA Wrestles With Future–Medicare’s and Its Own

AMA Wrestles With Future–Medicare’s and Its Own

Sen. Paul Wellstone Remembered

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderFeature1 Nov 2002Sen. Paul Wellstone Remembered Carole Roth Carole Roth Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.FTR3.07212002.3 SectionsAbout ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In During my presidency of the Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the years attending ASHA state policy meetings, I became aware of the political issues facing health care. I began to pay attention to Minnesota politicians and stood in line at the Minnesota State Fair to meet state legislators and congressional representatives. It was there in 1991 that I first met Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN). He asked to have his picture taken with me while I held my newborn daughter. More important than the picture was his level of interest as I discussed with him the importance of health care coverage for speech, language, and audiology services; adequate coverage for rehabilitation services, even for those with degenerative diseases; and benefits for school-age children. I continued to meet with him and his staff every opportunity I had both in Minnesota and on Capitol Hill. I worked on Wellstone’s campaign in 1996. My last visit with him was in his Capitol Hill office in conjunction with an ASHA Legislative Council meeting. I brought my daughter with me, the same daughter he had met as a baby. He insisted once again that a picture be taken of the three of us in his office. Again we discussed speech, language, and hearing services in health care and education; newborn hearing screenings; and patients’ rights. Again, he was most supportive and encouraging. Wellstone will be remembered for his progressive political platforms and voting records, his accomplishments on behalf of the poor, and his extensive grassroots network. Among the lengthy list of issues on his agenda were domestic violence, agriculture, education, universal health care, poverty reduction, campaign-finance reform and election reform, foreign policy, and veterans’ affairs. He was a vocal advocate of the poor in the Senate. He wrote the Patient Protection Act to protect consumers and health care providers and the Healthy Americans Act to work toward universal health care. He led the fight to protect Medicare from arbitrary cuts. He voted yes on including prescription drugs under Medicare and on medical savings accounts. Along with other senators, he authored several initiatives to make mental health coverage on par with other medical illness. He voted in favor of virtually every major form of federal funding in the Senate for education initiatives, including formation of the Higher Education Act, the Vocational Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Workforce Investment Act. He and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) won a Senate amendment to fully fund special education (IDEA) programs in schools. He advocated for funding $2 billion over a 10-year period through IDEA for school districts in Minnesota that require additional resources for students with special needs or disabilities. Wellstone said, “Politics is not left, right, or center. It’s about improving people’s lives.” Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 7Issue 21November 2002 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Nov 1, 2002 Metrics Downloaded 101 times Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagasha-article-typesCopyright & Permissions© 2002 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...

THE ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO PROMOTE BUREAUCRATIC OBJECTIVES: AN EMPIRICAL TEST

This article tests whether Job Training Partnership Act Title III discretionary funds are allocated to meet bureaucratic objectives. These funds are targeted to provide a rapid response to mass layoffs or natural disasters and are therefore well suited for detecting political influence because program distributions are awarded contemporaneously and eligibility is difficult to anticipate. After controlling for worker displacements and disaster declarations, discretionary outlays are higher in states with close congressional races, politically active constituents, and powerful congressional representatives. There is additional evidence of politics in the reduction of aggregate outlays during presidential election years.

Looking forward to Lobby Day—meeting with Congressional representatives

Looking forward to Lobby Day—meeting with Congressional representatives

Immigration and the U.S. Economy: Labor-Market Impacts, Illegal Entry, and Policy Choices

Since the 1960s, the United States has undergone a surge in immigration. The share of the U.S. population that is foreign born surpassed 10% in 2000, with new immigrants accounting for nearly half of recent U.S. population growth. Three policy issues are central to the current debate about immigration. One is what should be the level and composition of legal immigration. The United States admits relatively large numbers of immigrants with low levels of education and other discernible skills. Rising immigration of the less skilled may lower wages of native workers. A second issue is what to do about illegal immigration. Illegal aliens account for one third of new U.S. immigrants. An open question is whether U.S. policy should attempt to replace illegal immigration with large-scale temporary immigration of foreign workers. A third issue is whether immigrants should be eligible for public assistance. Denying eligibility could reduce immigration and lower fiscal transfers from natives to immigrants. In this paper, we examine immigration in the United States over the last several decades in order to gauge the potential for and the consequences of changes in U.S. immigration policy. Our study has six main sections, following an introduction. In section 2, we review U.S. immigration policy and trends. Current U.S. policy sets a quota on overall immigration, with first priority for admissions given to family members of U.S. citizens and legal residents. In recent years, fewer than 15% of new immigrants have been admitted based on their skill level. Whether intended or not, this policy favors immigrants with relatively little schooling. Recent immigrants tend to concentrate in specific regions and industries, and tend to earn much less than natives. In section 3, we consider how U.S. regional economies adjust to immigrant inflows. Despite the geographic concentration of recent immigrants, wages have not fallen perceptibly in the gateway communities in which immigrants settle. Regions have adjusted to immigrant inflows through other mechanisms, including skill upgrading of the native labor force, outmigration of native workers, and shifts in output mix towards immigrant-intensive industries. If education levels of the U.S. labor force stabilize, as they are expected to do, the wage impacts of immigration may be more pronounced. In section 4, we examine the factors that influence U.S. illegal immigration. Most illegal immigrants enter the country either by crossing the Mexico-U.S. border or by overstaying entry visas. Mexico is the largest source country for illegal immigration and illegal entry tends to surge following economic downturns in the country. The U.S. government impedes illegal immigration by policing borders and monitoring employers, with the vast majority of resources dedicated to border enforcement. These efforts appear to have had limited success, as the inflow of illegal immigrants continues unabated. In section 5, we examine the fiscal impact of immigration. Prior to U.S. welfare reform in 1996, immigrants were more likely than natives to receive public assistance. New laws restrict immigrant access to many benefits, one important exception being costly public education. For some types of public assistance, individual U.S. states have the discretion to offer benefits after an individual has been in the country for at least five years. Excluding immigrants from public assistance has been subject to numerous judicial challenges. Despite immigrant use of public assistance, the net fiscal transfer from natives to immigrants appears to be very small at the national level, though it is higher in a few specific states that have both generous welfare benefits and large immigrant populations. In general, the older and the less educated the adult immigrant population is, the larger are native-to-immigrant net fiscal transfers. In section 6, we examine the political economy of U.S. immigration policy. We find that individual opinions about immigration policy are influenced by expectations about its impact on outcomes in the labor market and on public services and the welfare state. In particular, less-skilled workers and political conservatives are among those most opposed to freer immigration. Congressional representatives seem to respond to these concerns in their districts when voting on legislation. In section 7, we conclude by discussing current policy choices facing the United States. Key decisions for U.S. policy makers include whether to replace family-based immigration with skills-based immigration, whether to continue to exclude immigrants from access to public assistance, whether to expand temporary immigration, and how to balance border and interior policing in enforcing against illegal immigration.

Challenges and opportunities in the psychological sciences.

In this commentary, the author draws on his experiences at the National Science Foundation to reveal that threats to the value and autonomy of social science research are more common than most psychologists suspect. To reduce the likelihood of these threats in the future, it is necessary to improve the public's understanding and confidence in the psychological sciences. The key is to focus on the results and accomplishments of the research and to avoid caveats and qualifications. It is also important to motivate the interest of the public by helping them to understand why and how psychological research is improving the quality of their lives. The author concludes with some practical suggestions regarding how psychologists can become more proactive in their education of the public, the media, and congressional representatives.

Commentary. Expatriate manager development

Performance ImprovementVolume 40, Issue 10 p. 6-8 Article Commentary. Expatriate manager development Samuel L. Elkins, Samuel L. Elkins atila5@juno.com. Samuel L. Elkins is a performance technologist, Air Force reserve officer, and student. He works for DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. in the education and development department, where he is charged with the training and development activities for supervisory and management programs. He is a reserve officer working for the U.S. Air Force Academy as the admissions director and liaison to senate and congressional representatives for the state of Tennessee. Sam is working toward his PhD in human resource development at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His MS degree from Lincoln Memorial University is in Education. His undergraduate work was done at the University of South Carolina.Search for more papers by this author Samuel L. Elkins, Samuel L. Elkins atila5@juno.com. Samuel L. Elkins is a performance technologist, Air Force reserve officer, and student. He works for DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. in the education and development department, where he is charged with the training and development activities for supervisory and management programs. He is a reserve officer working for the U.S. Air Force Academy as the admissions director and liaison to senate and congressional representatives for the state of Tennessee. Sam is working toward his PhD in human resource development at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His MS degree from Lincoln Memorial University is in Education. His undergraduate work was done at the University of South Carolina.Search for more papers by this author First published: 08 February 2007 https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.4140401004 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume40, Issue10November/December 2001Pages 6-8 RelatedInformation

Stories, Games, and Deliberative Democracy

Shocked though Americans were by the narrowness of the presidential election of 2000, no one could say that they were at a loss for words as they went through the crisis that began on election day and ended when the United States Supreme Court effectively handed the presidency to George W Bush. To the contrary, the tide of words was one of the most conspicuous marks of the postelection contest: an eruptive tsunami of words rolled out from the television and radio talk shows, the Internet chat rooms and the street corners, the nation of instant talking heads, explaining and obfuscating events, mobilizing and contesting. In the overdetermined political circumstances of the struggle, rhetoric held no simple key to the Bush victory. Once the Republicans realized that they could send a slate of Republican electors chosen by the Florida legislature to the Republican-controlled Congress to challenge whatever certified or uncertified vote tallies might emerge from the Florida canvassing boards, the contest over the outcome of the presidential election was effectively over. But even in an electorate that recognized the instrumentality of language and the fine arts of rhetorical spinning, the contest over words went on with deadly seriousness, absorbing and radiating power and consequence. The historian cannot but ask what that contest revealed about contemporary political culture and, perhaps deeper still, about the intensely charged yet diminished character of the political language of our times. As in all rhetorical eruptions, the structures lay just below the surface. It was an allbut-unbroken rule on the television news shows that the talking heads should talk in pairs; party-paired congressional representatives, law professors, and pundits showed up on the television split screens like squads of tag-team wrestlers, following the scripts and playbooks of the day with the faithfulness of disciplined athletes. Sound bites circulated, crystallizing in figures of speech the essence of the matter-the infallibility of machines; the cheap, shoddy equipment passed off on minority voters; the partisanship, character, and tastelessly applied makeup of Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state whose rulings curtailing manual recounts were central to the Republicans'

EXAMINING AGEISM: DO MALE AND FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS DIFFER?

Two-hundred undergraduate college students were surveyed regarding their preferences for the ages of 13 different service providers. Further, the construct of ageism as measured by the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA) was used for assessment with this sample. Results suggest that the mean age preference cited by respondents for all 13 service providers was below 40; the lowest mean age (26.5 years) was cited for the position of telephone operator; and the highest mean age (39.8 years) for the position of congressional representative. Except for the position of barber/beautician, gender differences in age preferences for the remaining 12 service providers did not show statistical significance. Results from the FSA suggest that male college students displayed more ageist attitudes than female college students. Age was negatively correlated with FSA.

Constructing NAFTA: Myth, Representation, and the Discursive Construction of U.S. Foreign Policy

The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in November 1993 signified the acceptance of Mexico as an equal trading partner with the United States and Canada. However, accepting Mexico as an equal partner challenged a deeply ingrained U.S. image of Mexico as inferior, childlike, dependent, and suspicious. How was it possible for the U.S. public and its congressional representatives to accept equal economic integration with a country that embodied such a negative image? Addressing this dilemma through a constructivist approach, this article argues that the existing image of Mexico remained intact. The passage of NAFTA instead resulted from a discursive construction of NAFTA that emphasized a positive U.S. self-image through American myths thereby allowing the simultaneous acceptance of Mexico as inferior and as an equal trading partner. American myths and other representational elements constructed NAFTA for the American public and created a policy success for President Clinton. This article relies on an empirical investigation of newspaper advertisements to demonstrate how myths contributed to the discursive construction of NAFTA.

Personal accounts: memoirs of a compulsive firesetter.

Personal accounts: memoirs of a compulsive firesetter.

Religious freedom and Indian rights: the case of Oregon v. Smith

The Supreme Court's controversial decision in Oregon v. Smith sharply departed from previous expansive readings of the First Amendment's religious freedom clause and ignited a firestorm of protest from legal scholars, religious groups, legislators, and Native Americans. Carolyn Long provides the first book-length analysis of Smith and shows why it continues to resonate so deeply in the American psyche. In 1983, Klamath Indian Alfred Smith and his co-worker Galen Black were fired as counselors from a drug rehabilitation agency for using peyote, a controlled substance under Oregon law, in a religious ceremony of the Native American Church. Both were subsequently denied unemployment benefits, which the State of Oregon claimed was permissible under its police powers and necessary in its effort to eradicate drug abuse. But Smith and Black argued that the denial of unemployment benefits constituted an infringement of their religious freedom and took their cases to court. Long traces the tortuous path that Smith followed as it went from state courts to the Supreme Court and then back again for a second round of hearings. A major event in Native American history, the case attracted widespread support for the Indian cause from a diverse array of religious groups eager to protect their own religious freedom. It also led to an intense tug-of-war between the Court and Congress, which fought back with amendments to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (to protect the religious use of peyote) and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which protected religious freedom for all Americans. The Court subsequently ruled the latter act unconstitutional in Boerne v. Flores (1997). Long provides a lucid and balanced view of the competing sides in Smith. Drawing on interviews with Smith and his family, as well as with lawyers, judges, and congressional and group representatives involved in this struggle between Congress and Court, she takes the reader from the rituals of a peyote religious ceremony to the halls of government to reveal the conflicting interests that emerged in this key First Amendment case. She also clarifies how the Court reversed longstanding precedent by replacing the balancing test of compelling state interest and least restrictive means with a new reasonable basis argument that theoretically could be used to curtail religious practices well beyond those of the Native American church. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protection of religious freedom applies only to laws that specifically target religious behavior and that an individual's religious beliefs do not excuse one from complying with statutes that indirectly infringe on their religious rights. Engagingly written, Long's study highlights the resultant struggles, but without ever losing sight of the rich human dimensions of the story.

Roots of reform: farmers, workers, and the American state, 1877-1917

Roots of Reform: Farmers, Workers, and American State, 1877-1917. By Elizabeth Sanders. American Politics and Political Economy. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, c. 1999. Pp. x, 532. Paper, $16.00, ISBN 0-226-73477-3; cloth, $48.00, JSBN 0-226-73476-5.) This book should have a powerful impact on content delivered by textbooks and lecturers in survey courses, injecting far more continuity between Populist and Progressive periods than historians have allowed. The conventional narrative recognizes some linkage between People's Party's Omaha platform of 1892 and post-1900 reform, but that convention stresses that social bases and leadership of reform shifted from farms and rural America and third party activists to cities and urban middle classes and Progressive presidents. Elizabeth Sanders powerfully revises this narrative, arguing that the dynamic stimulus for Populist and Progressive Era state expansion was periphery agrarians' drive to establish public control over a rampaging capitalism. The periphery generated bulk of reform agenda and furnished foot soldiers that saw reform through legislature (pp. 3-4). The first 147 pages of this book cover period up to 1896 and offer nothing new in a general way, but this reader's impatience with that situation was allayed by Sanders's bold arguments on many particulars. Regarding Populists' inability to appeal to Sanders dismisses notion that Populists bore full responsibility for that failure. Rather, from Greenbackers on, Sanders asserts, agrarian reformers, including Bryan in particular, issued strong and consistent appeals to labor and workers, but latter simply did not respond. Although book's first section is necessary, it is not an easy read. It is rewarding but might have been briefer given book's density. Sanders rejects capitalist-dominance thesis that views Progressive Era reform as managed by business and political elites. The capitalist response to new regulation was rather reactive and largely negative (p. 4), expressing itself mainly through executive and Supreme Court. Whereas earlier interpretations also have centered on presidential leadership, intellectuals, or new professionals, Sanders sharply shifts focus to regional political economies of South and West and, especially, to congressional representatives of these regions. She also argues that post-1896 Democratic Party constituted major vehicle responsible for federal government's regulatory response to imbalances of new industrial-financial economy. William Jennings Bryan emerges in this story as a failing presidential candidate--in 1896, 1900, and 1908--but one who exerted great influence over Democratic platforms, congressional agenda, and Wilson's New Freedom. Building on agrarian protests from 1870s on, and stimulated by renewed rural organization after 1900, Sanders argues that periphery agrarians brought significant government action to the redefinition of trade policy; creation of an income tax; a new, publicly controlled banking and currency system; antitrust policy; regulation of agricultural marketing networks; a nationally financed road system; federal control of railroads, ocean shipping, and early telecommunications; and agricultural and vocational education (pp. 7-8). The evidential heart of this book is analysis of roll-call voting in Congress from Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 through Taft and Wilson administrations. Dividing country into economic regions and subregions, Sanders establishes her argument via three categories of Congressional districts, based primarily on per capita value added in manufacturing: core, diverse, and periphery. Time and again, legislators' votes tended to be polarized between manufacturing-business core and peripheral agrarian districts, with legislators from diverse areas divided or siding with agrarians. …

U.S. Perspectives on Grain Trade with Canada: A Critical Appraisal

Introduction Grain trade presents a number of contentious issues for the United States and Canada. While both countries are traditionally net exporters, the United States has imported large amounts of wheat and barley in recent years--to the consternation of many U.S. producers. Differences in market organization between the United States and Canada and changes in the policy environment for agricultural trade have left plenty of room for public confusion about the causes of U.S. grain imports and whether anything can be done about it. This paper presents a summary and critique of U.S. perspectives on the Canadian grain problem. To be clear, it is the wheat and barley producers in northern-tier states (and their congressional representatives) who are most concerned about grain imports. While other U.S. groups have a stake in the evolution of continental grain trade--specifically, millers, maltsters, grain merchants, and their trade associations--there are overshadowed in public discourse and political influence by the concerns of grain producers. Hence, much of this critique is addressed to the perceptions (and misperceptions) of U.S. wheat and barley producers and their political advocates. Popular Views of the Grain Problem Some complaints by U.S. producers are misguided. An example is the assertion that producers reap an unfair advantage because of the exchange rate. It is true that changing exchange rates can shift the competitive advantage between countries. However, a Montana farmer's letter to the Joint Commission on Grains (included in Volume II of its Final Report) reveals misunderstanding on a more basic level: A farmer told me last week that the price of a bushel of wheat in Canada and here were comparable, but if he sold it down here he could get a 35% premium because of differences. In other words, I sell my wheat and I get $3.50 per bushel. The dumps his load in the same pit with mine and he gets 35% more, or $4.77 in his money. To the Montana farmer, it appeared that money differences led to a higher return for his counterpart. (Presumably, part of the problem is that Canadians stubbornly refuse to change the name of their currency. If the farmer earned 4.77 loonies instead of dollars, the U.S. farmer would worry less about being cheated.) From an economic perspective, what matters is changes in exchange rates and how these are passed through to costs of goods and services, rather than the levels of exchange rates per se. When the dollar loses value (depreciates), as it did during 1992-94 and most spectacularly during 1998, goods become more competitive in U.S. and offshore markets. But, at the same time, the farmer's depreciated dollar buys him less. Although Canada's competitive position has been enhanced by currency depreciation, this is properly viewed as a result of market forces. In an era when most governments (including Canada's) do not directly control their exchange rates, the fairness of currency fluctuations for U.S. producers is not really at issue. (1) One of the most widely repeated, but (as yet) unsubstantiated, claims is that Canada unfairly subsidizes its grain exports to the United States. This is an almost reflexive allegation--that is, a knee-jerk one--by some U.S. farmers and politicians. It seems to stem from the identification of the Wheat Board (CWB) as a state trading enterprise and the conviction that the CWB does not play fair in international competition. Farmers are also perplexed by the fact that the United States imports any wheat. After all, one-half of the U.S. wheat crop is typically exported; why should a surplus producer be importing grain from Canada? Answer: It must be subsidized. In fact, subsidies are a slippery concept, admitting different interpretations and means of measurement (Huffbauer and Erb 1984, 9-13). …

The American Aerospace Industry: From Workshop to Global Enterprise (review)

Reviewed by: The American Aerospace Industry: From Workshop to Global Enterprise* Jacob Vander Meulen (bio) The American Aerospace Industry: From Workshop to Global Enterprise. By Roger E. Bilstein. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996. Pp. xviii+280; illustrations, tables, notes, index. $28.95. Readers and researchers interested in the development of the aircraft/aerospace industry in the United States faced a formidable handicap: John B. Rae’s Climb to Greatness: The American Aircraft Industry, 1920–1960 (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1968) was the last attempt at a historical survey of the industry. Given the industry’s centrality to national development in the twentieth century, the lack of a comprehensive survey can be frustrating for research on a range of other topics and issues as well. [End Page 589] Aerospace does not easily lend itself to the historical overview illuminating other major industries. Unfortunately, few aerospace firms preserve or provide access to the kinds of records that enable historians to prepare monographs. The industry’s real problem for the survey writer, however, is its scale and complexity. Aerospace is less an industry than a protean multiplex of technological, economic, political, and cultural processes. It is a panoply of private and public institutions that range from design and manufacturing firms to the armed services’ air wings; from parts and accessory suppliers to government research, support, promotional, and regulatory bodies; from airlines, trade associations, lobbies, and unions to congressional representatives and committees. Besides the archival impairment of private firms, the research base for aerospace history is enormous, far-flung, and altogether daunting for any historian. The problems are only compounded by the historian’s usual limitations from the engineer’s perspective. Aerospace history has also been constrained by lingering, tired assumptions of the “military-industrial complex” school. Roger Bilstein’s study is thus a most welcome addition to the literature. His well-written overview supersedes Rae’s sound but dated Climb to Greatness. Not pretending to provide a “comprehensive, definitive survey,” Bilstein instead offers “a framework that imparts a sense of the general context and evolution of a very complex industry” (pp. xiii–xiv). Compressing his years of research on aerospace and its multiple implications for the American experience, the author meets his goal. He sketches military aviation, air transport, rocketry and space flight, personal aircraft, helicopters, and general aviation, as well as engines, accessories, avionics, and infrastructure from the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903 to the industry’s growing consolidation and global reach in the early 1990s. While Bilstein generally uses broad brush strokes, he focuses briefly and concisely on various issues and topics. A selection: the patent disputes among early aircraft innovators and the formative context of federally enforced competition for military aircraft; the Curtiss-Wright Corporation; the development of the Boeing B-17 bomber and long-range transport (model 247) during the Great Depression; the Douglas-Commercial-3; the North American P-51 Mustang; labor strife during the 1930s and 1940s; the F-86 Saber and B-52 Stratofortress; and the work of NASA, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Bilstein describes international influences and competition and much else besides. Other specific topics include naval aviation, Sidewinder missiles, Cessna private planes, the F-4 Phantom, the Minuteman, Apollo, the Boeing 700 series of airliners up to the 777, the F-16 Falcon, Bell Ranger helicopters, the B-2 Stealth, Desert Storm, and the F-22 Raptor. Bilstein is especially thought-provoking on the various multiplier effects, cross-fertilizations, spin-offs, and technology transfers prompted by aerospace in other industrial and institutional realms. Students will be [End Page 590] hard-pressed to find clearer and better-contextualized summaries of such basic developments as jet, swept-wing, and microcircuit technologies; new systems management techniques prompted by aerospace; and the various military procurement reforms from the Air Corps Act (1926) to the Packard Commission (1986). Bilstein is too sanguine on the industry’s performance during World War II and fails to conclude with a clear summary of the industry’s place in national and global economies. The index is too brief, hindering quick reference. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution is misplaced in the summer of 1965 (p. 168). Nevertheless...

National health care reform and the 103rd Congress: the activities and influence of public health advocates.

This study examined the activities and influence of public health interest groups and coalitions on the national health care reform debates in the 103rd Congress. Congressional staff and representatives of public health interest groups, coalitions, and government health agencies were interviewed. Content analysis of eight leading national health care reform bills was performed. The public health community coalesced around public health in health care reform; nearly all the major interest groups and government health agencies joined two or more public health or prevention coalitions, and half joined three or more. The most effective influence on health care reform legislation was early, sustained personal contact with Congress members and their staffs, accompanied by succinct written materials summarizing key points. Media campaigns and grassroots mobilization were less effective. Seven of the eight leading health care reform bills included one or more of the priorities supported by public health advocates. The public health community played an important role in increasing awareness and support for public health programs in the health care reform bills of the 103rd Congress.

The United States Food Policy

Programs implementing U.S. food-assistance policy still currently lack support by many congressional representatives despite the fact that their curtailment will lead to there being more hungry children, more people going hungry among our elderly population, and ultimately more debility and dependency among vulnerable groups in our population. As it is, more than one in every twelve U.S. children under the age of twelve is hungry on a consistent basis. Table 1 provides estimates of the number of people in the United States suffering from hunger. This address consists of an identification of

AORN urges members to share expertise with Congressional representatives

AORN JournalVolume 61, Issue 3 p. 473-473 Department AORN urges members to share expertise with Congressional representatives Pat Niessner Palmer RN, MS, MNM, Pat Niessner Palmer RN, MS, MNM Deputy Executive DirectorSearch for more papers by this author Pat Niessner Palmer RN, MS, MNM, Pat Niessner Palmer RN, MS, MNM Deputy Executive DirectorSearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1995 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-2092(06)63736-8 Editor's note: This is the last column devoted solely to health care reform. Future health care reform legislation will be covered in the monthly “Legislation” column. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume61, Issue3March 1995Pages 473-473 RelatedInformation

Old Wine in New Bottles Tastes Better: A Case Study of TQM Implementation in the IRS

Joseph Juran is an author, lecturer, and corporate advisor on Total Quality Management (TQM). Juran (1964) has had experience in universities, industry, and government agencies, and he believes that the principles of TQM can be applied with equal success in any of these settings. Swiss (1992), however, argued that orthodox principles of TQM, as taught by Juran, Deming, and others, must be modified to be successfully implemented in government. He suggested that there is a need for output goals and measurements, employee empowerment, feedback from customers, and continuous improvement efforts. This case study of TQM implementation in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) analyzes one government agency's approach and explores other issues. Were there improvements in productivity and customer service in the IRS after TQM implementation? If so, were the changes the result of TQM? Is TQM a change or simply reinforcement and expansion of existing, positive practices of the traditional art and science of public administration? The Decision to Adopt TQM in the Internal Revenue Service In the early months of 1985, processing fell behind at the Internal Revenue Service Centers when nearly 180 million tax returns and supplemental documents arrived. The cause of many problems was a complete computer system conversion at 10 service centers. As the problems were resolved, the service centers caught up and processed 6 million returns per week in April 1985 - the fastest processing rate the centers had ever accomplished (Internal Revenue Service, 1986). Early that year, there was national, adverse publicity of problems with erroneous notices, lost tax returns, and enormous increases in taxpayer correspondence. More problems resulted from the drive for productivity at any cost - in this case, the cost was quality service to taxpayers (Federal Quality Institute, 1992). In 1986, the IRS began a journey from crisis to quality. The decision to implement TQM was an agency decision in response to the demands of the customers that the agency was designed to serve. The most important of these customers were Congress and the taxpaying public. When taxpayers related their concerns to congressional representatives, and when executive oversight agencies reported that the agency was delivering poor service, the agency was encouraged to develop strategies to improve the quality of service. Within this political context, the agency chose to implement TQM. Employee resistance was apparent when the IRS began quality and customer service training. Some employees and managers gave reasons why they would be unable to attend their scheduled training. Some employees who attended training explained that it seemed inappropriate to call taxpayers customers. Other employees believed that TQM was just another trend that upper level management would advocate and then abandon in favor of a newer trend. Other employees believed that TQM would make no difference because quality service had always been their objective (Mani, 1994). Resistance to change is a common problem in organizations that adopt the total quality management philosophy (Juran, 1964). This resistance may be even greater in public sector organizations where standard operating procedures are clearly specified and regulate both policy and practice. This resistance may be lessened if decision makers believe that TQM includes changes that will lessen existing problems and help prevent problems in the future (Cohen and Brand, 1993). Implementation of TQM in the Internal Revenue Service Demonstrated commitment of top-level management is critical to the successful implementation of TQM (Krone, 1991). This commitment has been apparent at all stages of implementation in the IRS - both in organizational structure and in quality training. The first changes in organizational structure began at the top level in the national office. In 1986 the commissioner of the IRS instituted the Commissioner's Quality Council, which included the associate commissioners, two regional commissioners, the assistant commissioner for human resources and management support (ex-officio), and the executive secretary (ex-officio). …