Congressional Partisanship in America's Comprehensive Energy Legislation
In the scope of this paper I present the bill in two ways. First, I will show the most recent energy bill as a product of the length of historical debate on energy. I review the history of energy policy, and review the successes and failures of previous Congresses and Presidential administrations. I have broadly reviewed each Presidential administration as a time period for energy policy. This historical perspective is intended to show how energy and environmental policy became simultaneously considered issues when drafting legislation, and how the Waxman-Markey bill evolved from its predecessors. Secondly, I will analyze the bill itself using, both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using three theories of Congressional decision-making, I will analyze how the House Energy and Commerce Committee drafted the bill, and how the subsequent vote was a reflection of partisan politics. It will prove that the increase in polarity scores since the mid-1970s have led to a partisan vote on the Waxman-Markey legislation.