The Genesis of a Reform Effort: The Political and Institutional Origins of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress

Since the early 20th century, efforts to reform the U.S. Congress have sought to remedy institutional weaknesses and bolster legislative branch capacity relative to an ascendant executive. This article situates the most recent of these efforts – the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress – in the history of congressional reform initiatives, examining the circumstances of its formation as well as the institutional pressures that limited its scope to operational modernization over changes to the leadership or committee systems. Drawing on more than two dozen interviews with members of Congress, staffers, outside experts, and scholars, this article reconstructs the committee’s origins in longstanding reform debates in Washington, D.C. and traces how a specific moment in political time opened space for this bipartisan initiative. This study illustrates both the persistence of institutional constraints and the possibilities for incremental change through the partnership of internal political entrepreneurs and external reform advocates.