The Purpose‐Driven Congress: Measuring and Explaining Legislative Outcomes of House Investigations

ABSTRACT

What inspires and propels investigative work in Congress? Members consistently cite legislative action to claim credit for their investigations, but what makes certain inquiries more legislatively productive than others? In this paper, I link members' investigative and legislative work and argue that committee investigations represent a crucial stage in the broader policymaking process in Congress. I assess the structure of House Oversight Committee investigations and the role of each component part in predicting legislative outcomes. I show that, contrary to their reputation as theatrical time‐wasters, public nonlegislative committee hearings contribute to problem‐solving via both individual and collective legislative action. Additionally, I offer a normative upside to the effects of partisanship on executive‐targeted investigations: Committee investigations are more legislatively productive under divided rather than unified government.