Koger and Fowler on agenda setting in the Senate
Abstract: We analyze the influence of party and preferences on Senate agenda-setting. We find a significant majority party advantage in getting bills reported from committee, but otherwise little variation within parties based on preferences. In addition, our results suggest that Senate committees are more likely to report bills written by committee leaders and senior members, or bills with cosponsors. This suggests that Senate agenda-setters are sensitive to cues that bills are high-quality and relatively easy to pass.
Gregory Koger and James H. Fowler (2007), “Parties and Agenda-Setting in the Senate, 1973-1998,” unpublished paper. Available here.