The Challenge of Legislation: Bipartisanship in a Partisan World - Softcover

John L. Hilley worked in the White House as senior adviser and head of legislative affairs to President Bill Clinton from February 1996 to January 1998. In this role, he oversaw and participated in the negotiation of all major legislation. Before moving to the White House, Hilley served as chief counsel for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, and majority staff director for Senate Budget Committee Chairman Jim Sasser. In the private sector, he has served as executive vice president of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and as chairman and CEO of NASDAQ International. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.

" The Challenge of Legislation is the hopeful story of Republicans and Democrats working as partners to address our nation's problems. John Hilley chronicles a time when we set aside our differences to win results for the American people. He speaks not just as a witness, but as a participant in achieving this historic balanced budget agreement. His story should serve as a challenge for leaders in Congress and the White House." —Trent Lott, Senate Republican Whip

"This book is an insider's recollection of the processes that led to the 1997 crafting of the nation's first balanced budget in decades.... All of the characters appear in vivid color. Recommended." — CHOICE

" The Challenge of Legislation is brilliant and enthralling, the best account in decades of the dance of legislation on Capitol Hill. John Hilley, a seasoned and highly-regarded Senate aide who became Bill Clinton's top legislative strategist, uses a too-rare bipartisan moment to reveal in deft first-hand fashion both politics and policy as actually practiced by the White House and Congressional leaders. Hilley was there, he lived every moment of this page-turning tale, and he can write. He's produced a perfect book for citizens and students alike —an engrossing, informative, and uplifting story of Washington as it can be, of Washington at its best." —Eric Redman, author of The Dance of Legislation

" The Challenge of Legislation opens the window on national policy as it is created. This remarkable story takes the reader on the roller coaster ride of legislation —the competing agendas, political calculations, uncertainties and surprises, acts of goodwill and trust, and finally the exhilaration of accomplishment." —Tom Daschle, former Senate Democratic Leader