Public Issues Series: Federalist and Anti-Federalist Traditions Matter

Paul Carver, Professor in Practice at Virginia Tech and Scholar in Residence at Boston University’s Washington Center will speak on The US Congress Today: Why Federalist and Anti-Federalist Traditions Still Matter at the UW Center for Civic Engagement, UW-Marathon County, 625 Stewart Avenue, Wausau, on May 7, from 6:30-7:30 pm. The event is part of the Public Issues Series sponsored by the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS).

Carver will examine why the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debate of 1787 is still relevant today and speak to the importance of Alexander Hamilton’s vision of an “energetic federal government.” He will discuss the impact that Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district has had on this long-standing debate, and consider emerging trends in congressional policy today.

Paul Carver is a Capitol Hill veteran of nearly 28 years, all working for Congressman David R. Obey, a Democrat from the 7th congressional district of Wisconsin. Obey won a special election in April, 1969 and upon his retirement in January, 2011 had served longer than any other federally-elected official from Wisconsin. Carver was a senior advisor for more than 20 years, during which Obey led debate for House Democrats on a wide range of domestic, military and foreign aid policy matters within the federal discretionary budget.

Carver worked in Congressman Obey’s personal office and served most recently as Senior Policy Advisor. Prior to that, for 18 years, he was Legislative Director, helping coordinate the work of a legislative and communications team in Washington and staff in two district offices in Wisconsin. Carver began studying policymaking in the House of Representatives in the 1970s. He admires Hamilton’s belief in a strong central government with the power to tax and regulate commerce and notes that Article 1 of the Constitution places the Congress firmly at the center of the federal policymaking process.

Eric Giordano, Director of WIPPS, notes that “Our Public Issues speaker series brings in national experts on a variety of topics. Paul Carver has an intimate understanding of how congress works and is an advocate of the Hamiltonian view of government.”

Carver holds a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Essex, 1984. His thesis was on “Elements of Change in the Distribution of Power in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1959-1981; Rules Reform, Turnover and the Electoral Arena.”