The American Congress

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

• ISBN13: 9781107654358
• ISBN10: 1107654351
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-31
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

The American Congress provides the most current treatment of congressional politics available in an undergraduate text. Informed by the authors' Capitol Hill experience and scholarship, this book presents a crisp introduction to major features of Congress: parties and committee systems, leadership, voting, and floor activity. This text contains discussions of the importance of presidents, courts, and interest groups in congressional policy making. Recent developments are also discussed within the context of congressional political history. The seventh edition includes complete coverage of the first Congress of the Obama presidency, the 2010 midterm elections, healthcare reform, and an early perspective on the 112th Congress with a Republican majority.

Author Biography

Steven S. Smith is a professor of political science, the Kate M. Gregg Distinguished Professor of Social Science, and Director of the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis. He has chaired the Legislative Studies Section of the American Political Science Association and has served on the editorial boards ofAmerican Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. Jason M. Roberts is an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina. He co-edited the book Why Not Parties? Party Effects in the U.S. Senate(2009). His articles have been published, in American Political Science.Review, American.Journal of Political Science, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. Ryan J. Vander Wielen is an assistant professor of political science at Temple University. His articles have appeared in Political Analysis, Legislative Studies Quarterly and Public Choice:

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
The American Congress:Modern Trends	p. 1
Representation and Lawmaking in Congress:The Constitutional and Historical Context	p. 29
Congressional Elections and Policy Alignments	p. 55
Members, Goals, Resources, and Strategies	p. 91
Parties and Leaders	p. 127
The Standing Committees	p. 171
The Rules of the Legislative Game	p. 217
The Floor and Voting	p. 249
Congress and the President	p. 277
Congress and the Courts	p. 319
Congress, Lobbyists, and Interest Groups	p. 349
Congress and Budget Politics	p. 379
Appendix: Introduction to the Spatial Theory of Legislating	p. 405
Suggested Readings	p. 417
Index	p. 443
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