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The Selection of Committee Leaders in the House of Representatives

Miami University

This paper examines the procedure for selecting committee leaders in the House of Representatives. Since this procedure provides for the election of committee leaders each Congress, membership evaluations of committee chairpersons have become critical in determining committee leadership. Leadership evaluation involves performance and personal appraisal. Performance appraisal reflects membership concern with the func tioning of the committees, whereas personal appraisal entails the application of a more personal set of criteria to the evaluation of committee leaders. The analysis uses two independent data sources: interviews with a random sample of 40 congressional Demo crats during the second session of the Ninety-Fourth Congress, and aggregate data relating to the characteristics of the incumbent committee leaders and the performance of their committees. These data sources complement one another and provide the opportunity for multiple confirmation of the conclusions reached in the analysis. Both the interview and aggregate data establish the centrality of performance concerns, especially leadership fairness, to the evaluation and selection of committee leaders.

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