Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
The rule of law depends on a working separation of powers and transparency and accountability in government. If information is power, the ability of one branch of government to control information represents the ability to control federal legislation, policy, and decision-making. The Framers of the United States Constitution developed the Madisonian model of separated powers and functions, and a system of checks and balances to maintain those separations, with this in mind. History has shown a progressive shift of the power to control information toward the executive branch and away from the Legislature. Particularly when unified, one-party government precludes effective Congressional investigations and oversight, little recourse exists for accessing information. This Article addresses an institutional design element that would increase transparency and accountability: periodic question-and-answer sessions between Congress and the President modeled on the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister’s Question Time. The Article makes the case for such a measure in the U.S. by examining the comparative political history and legal norms of the U.K. and the United States, and the need for a Question Time to increase government transparency and efficiency.
Recommended Citation
17 Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 247 (2008)
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American Politics Commons, Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, Constitutional Law Commons