Structure and Opportunity: Congressional Attention to Biotechnology.

This paper explores how the congressional committee system shapes the dynamics of issue attention. Consisting of what I refer to as a congressional opportunity structure, the multiple and overlapping structures of authority of committee jurisdictions provides an important institutional context for the appearance of new items on the policy agenda and the level of attention paid to new issues in congressional proceedings. I illustrate this through an examination of congressional attention to biotechnology issues over a thirty-year period. I find that committees with broader jurisdictions were more active in biotechnology than committees with a narrow policy remit. These effects were most pronounced in the area of biomedical research, such as stem cells, cloning, and access to genetic information. The findings suggest how institutions provide a dynamic environment for the entrepreneurial pursuit of political goals. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]