8 - The Future of Collaboration

Summary

As the first study of collaboration in Congress, this book significantly expands our understanding of why members of Congress often choose to work together in a polarized Congress and often do so across party lines. Chapter 8 reviews the book's key findings: (a) members of Congress collaborate on substantive policy initiatives, (b) they are strategic about when and with whom to collaborate, and (c) collaborative legislation is more successful at every stage of the legislative process. The chapter concludes with discussions of the implications of this study for understanding legislative behavior and congressional policymaking, avenues for future research, and the outlook for the collaborative Congress and ways to support it in the years ahead.