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I am honored to introduce the John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

The Center is one of the first of its kind to pursue a rigorous study of Congress as a policy-making institution. The Center will enhance both scholarly and public understanding of the role of Congress in writing the nation’s laws and forging its policies.

With our separation-of-powers Constitution, Congress, unlike the legislative body in a parliamentary system, exercises great power in the making of national policy. But with 100 Senators and 435 Representatives and, customarily, no strict party discipline, Congress is not an easy institution to understand, even for the well-informed.

The Brademas Center will be a place to which we shall invite Presidents, Senators and Representatives—current and former, Democrats and Republicans; Cabinet Secretaries and other Executive Branch officials; judges; Congressional staffers; parliamentarians from other countries; journalists; and scholars and students to meet to discuss both the processes by which Congress shapes policy and substantive issues facing our nation. Through an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Congress, we seek to illumine both academic and public understanding of what the Constitution designates “The First Branch” of the Federal Government.

John Brademas
President Emeritus

  • Info: The 2009 Brademas Center Internship Program information is now available Find it Here
  • Publications: 3rd Annual Bernard and Irene Schwartz Lecture on Congress: Executive Summary: Professor Paul Light, NYU Wagner Read it Here
  • News: Make it easier to say "yes":Obama and McCain on Public Service by Paul C. Light Read it Here
  • News: A Government ILL EXECUTED: The Decline of Federal Service and How to Reverse It with Sen. Daschle and Paul Light Read About it Here
  • Publications: Stafford Act Reform Report by Mitchell Moss More Information
  • Publications: Public Opinion Toward Legislating for the Future: An Update, 2008 More Information
  • Project: The Reflections Project: Departing Members of Congress Assess the Institution
  • Project: Legislating for the Future: Assessing the Institution’s Ability to Make Long-Term Decisions
The John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress is housed at
NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.