Senator Howard Baker on nonpartisan vs. bipartisan Legislation

Abstract

Recent research has focused on the circumstances of the passage of the early environmental laws of the 1970s. Among revelations are that a bipartisan group of five Senators led by Senator Edmund Muskie spearheaded the enactment of the precedent-setting Clean Air and Clean Water Act amendments of 1970 and 1972. In striking contrast with current Congressional gridlock, both statutes were approved by overwhelming bipartisan votes, including unanimous approval in the Senate.

Senator Howard H. Baker was a key member of the group. His engineering background and technical interests helped him to contribute significantly to the technical content of the above and other laws. In 2011 Baker responded to questions about bipartisanship in framing of the revolutionary laws. He pointed out that whereas partisanship is an essential component of democratic systems, bipartisanship is often misunderstood. Creative resolution of problems requires not bipartisan but nonpartisan legislation – the development of which places special requirements on lawmakers.