The American Congress Reader

by Steven S. Smith , Jason M. Roberts , Ryan J. Vander Wielen

• ISBN13: 9780521720199
• ISBN10: 0521720192
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-15
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The American Congress Reader provides a supplement to the popular and newly updated American Congress undergraduate textbook. By the same authors who drew upon Capitol Hill experience and nationally recognized scholarship to present a crisp introduction and analysis of Congress's inner mechanics, the Reader compiles the best relevant scholarship on party and committee systems, leadership, voting, and floor activity to broaden and illuminate the key features of the text.

Table of Contents

The American Congress: Modern Trends
What Is Wrong with the American Political System?	p. 3
A Reassessment of Who's to Blame: A Positive Case for the Public Evaluation of Congress	p. 7
Between the Campaigns: Public Approval and Disapproval of Government	p. 16
Representation and Lawmaking in Congress: The Constitutional and Historical Context
U.S. Constitution, Articles I, II, III, and Amendments	p. 31
The Federalist, Nos. 10 and 51	p. 43
U.S. House Members in Their Constituencies: An Exploration	p. 51
Collective vs. Dyadic Representation in Congress	p. 88
Congressional Elections and Policy Alignments
Elbridge Gerry's Salamander: The Electoral Consequences of the Reapportionment Revolution - Excerpts	p. 101
Strategic Politicians and the Dynamics of U.S. House Elections, 1946-1986	p. 113
Congress: The Electoral Connection	p. 126
Members, Goals, Resources, and Strategies
Senate Representation and Coalition Building in Distributive Politics	p. 141
Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition: The Case of Members of the United States House of Representatives	p. 152
Issue Politics in Congress - Excerpts	p. 162
Parties and Leaders
Institutional Context and Leadership Style: The House from Cannon to Rayburn	p. 177
Setting the Agenda	p. 193
Party Influence in Congress	p. 200
The Standing Committees
Distributive and Partisan Issues in Agriculture Policy in the 104th House	p. 213
Principals, Goals, Dimensionality, and Congressional Committees	p. 221
Nonlegislative Hearings and Policy Change in Congress	p. 230
The Rules of the Legislative Game
Sample of a Special Rule	p. 243
Sample of a Unanimous Consent Agreement	p. 245
On the Effects of Legislative Rules	p. 246
The Partisan Basis of Procedural Choice: Allocating Parliamentary Rights in the House, 1789-1990	p. 256
The Evolution of Agenda-Setting Institutions in Congress: Path Dependency in House and Senate Institutional Development	p. 265
The Floor and Voting
Greasing the Wheels: Using Pork Barrel Projects to Build Majority Coalitions in Congress - Excerpt	p. 279
Models of Legislative Voting	p. 292
Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking	p. 307
Congress and the President
Presidential Veto Messages	p. 319
Presidential Signing Statement	p. 322
Veto Bargaining: Presidents and the Politics of Negative Power	p. 324
The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947-1996	p. 343
The Politics of Shared Power: Congress and the Executive - Excerpt	p. 354
Conscience of a Conservative	p. 374
Congress and the Courts
Senate Voting on Supreme Court Nominees: A Neoinstitutional Model	p. 383
From Abe Fortas to Zoe Baird: Why Some Presidential Nominations Fail in the Senate	p. 389
Congress, Lobbyists, and Interest Groups
Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees	p. 401
"Legislative Lobbying" - Excerpt	p. 414
Congress and Budget Politics
Appropriations in the Republican Era	p. 429
Pet Projects' Veil Is Only Partly Lifted: Lawmakers Find Other Paths to Special-Interest Funding	p. 436
Further Readings on Congressional Politics
Introduction to the Spatial Theory of Legislating	p. 441
The Institutional Foundations of Committee Power	p. 449
The Return to Equilibrium: Controlling Legislative Agendas	p. 460
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