DOMESTIC AGENDA-SETTING, 1947-1994

This article examines domestic agenda setting in Washington between 19 47 and 1994. It finds that House and Senate majority leaders have, ove r time, set increasingly more of this agenda. I examine the role of pr esidents and congressional committee chairs in domestic agenda setting , and I evaluate the success of presidential and congressional proposa ls within the legislative process. Recent changes in agenda-setting pa tterns seem to be the product of a number of factors, including more f requent and polarized divided government, as well as changes in the fo rmal rules of Congress and the ideological composition of the legislat ive parties.