The Dance of Legislation

A classic description of the legislative process, tracing the drafting and passing of a single piece of legislation with all the maneuvering, frustrations, and triumphs involved.

Presents a description of the legislative process by tracing the drafting and passing of a single piece of legislation. This book offers a picture of the bureaucratic infighting, political prerogatives, and Congressional courtesies that is necessary to make something happen on Capitol Hill.

The Dance of Legislation has long been considered a classic description of the legislative process. In it, Eric Redman draws on his two years as a member of Senator Warren Magnuson’s staff to trace the drafting and passing of a piece of legislation — S.4106, the National Health Service Bill — with all the maneuvers, plots, counterplots, frustrations, triumphs, and sheer work and dedication involved. He provides a vivid picture of the bureaucratic infighting, political prerogatives, and Congressional courtesies necessary to make something happen on Capitol Hill. In a Postscript to the 2000 edition, Redman reflects on how that process has, and has not, changed in the thirty years since the book was first published.