This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Paden, C. Articles by Page, B. I. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Congress Invokes Public Opinion on Welfare Reform

Northwestern University

Benjamin I. Page

Northwestern University

If democratically elected public officials respond to the policy preferences of ordinary citizens, one might expect them to make frequent, favorable references to public opinion as revealed by polls and surveys. An analysis of the 1995 congressional debates leading up to the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (welfare reform), however, generally corroborates the findings of Cook, Barabas, and Page concerning policy elites' discussions of Social Security. Congresspersons' references to public opinion were quite infrequent and vague. In some cases, they were significantly misleading. The implications of these findings are briefly discussed.

Key Words: welfare reform • public opinion • congressional debates • time limits • family cap • work requirements • child care • block grants • food stamp benefits

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?