The Institutionalization of Cooperation: Bicameral Politics in a Partisan Era.

The present research attempts to resituate our understanding of congressional conference committees in a perspective consistent with thier organizational purpose as facilitators of bicameral cooperation. Armed an original dataset covering the 107th through 110th Congresses, it is shown that the strategic selection of conferees (presumed to promote partisan outcomes) advances cooperation in conference first and foremost. Additional tests of the overarching theory reveal that cooperation at the conference stage produces centrist (both non-partisan and inter-cameral) outcomes. The implications extend beyond conference committees, suggesting alternative ways of thinking about extant notions of partisanship and the institutionalization of cooperation. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]