How the elements of the United States' government work together is a question that can be

traced back to the the vigorous debates at the Republic's founding. This dissertation moves

the research forward by bringing to bear new data, in particular databases of government

actions including: executive orders, Senate committee assignments, and the Congressional

Record; as well as non-governmental information including: polling, and media coverage.

The analysis is divided into three papers. Chapter 2 focuses on the link between Congress

and the Executive through presidents' use of executive orders. I find that since 1936 the

number of significant orders issued per year has remained basically level. I estimate that

over 75% or significant executive orders have shifted policy outcomes closer to the congressional majority's preference. From this I conclude that executive orders generally serve as a steady, shared policymaking tool between Congress and the president. Chapter 3 focuses

on the link between Congress and the public. I use a new dataset of over 3,000 survey

questions to measure the public's perceptions -- perceived issue ownership -- and compare

that to measures of each party's Senate committee preferences -- legislative issue ownership. On average, there is little to no relationship between the two. Chapter 4 focuses on senators' committee preferences in response to declining media coverage of Congress, examining the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees from 1947 to 2006. The research relies on new, continuous measures of committee desirability and a unique dataset of congressional press coverage. Although both committees' visibility and attractiveness have declined dramatically over 60 years, statistical analyses indicate that change in internal rules and external events are relatively more important than the media as predictors for senators' investment in committee careers.