Congress and Its Members

by Davidson, Roger H.; Oleszek, Walter J.

• ISBN13: 9780871877260
• ISBN10: 0871877260
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-08-01
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

This best-selling text offers much-needed perspective and context to help students follow fast-changing events taking place on Capitol Hill. Davidson and Oleszek reveal the inherent tension between Congress as a lawmaking institution and Congress as a collection of re-election-minded politicians. Congress and Its Members has always won over students by combining a wealth of material about Congress and the latest scholarship with a lively, engaging, approach that never talks down to readers. Davidson and Oleszek thoughtfully employ colorful examples, quotations, photos, and graphics to enliven and underscore the general points being made in the text.

Author Biography

Roger H. Davidson is professor emeritus of government and politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. Currently he is visiting professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. For the 2001-2002 academic year, he serves as the John Marshall Chair in political science at the University of Debrecen, Hungary Walter J. Oleszek is senior specialist in American national government at the Congressional Research Service. He is an adjunct professor of political science at American University and lectures frequently on political affairs in the United States and abroad

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
In Search of the Two Congresses
The Two Congresses	p. 3
The Dual Nature of Congress	p. 4
Divergent Views of Congress	p. 9
Evolution of the Modern Congress	p. 13
Antecedents of Congress	p. 13
Congress in the Constitution	p. 17
Institutional Evolution	p. 26
Evolution of the Legislator's Job	p. 33
Conclusion	p. 39
A Congress of Ambassadors
Going for It: Recruitment Roulette	p. 41
Formal Rules of the Game	p. 42
Districting in the House	p. 46
Becoming a Candidate	p. 58
Nominating Politics	p. 68
The Money Factor	p. 70
Conclusion	p. 83
Making It: The Electoral Game	p. 85
Campaign Strategies	p. 86
Campaign Resources	p. 88
Campaign Techniques	p. 96
The Parallel Campaigns	p. 100
Who Votes?	p. 101
How Voters Decide	p. 104
Election Outcomes	p. 116
After the Election Is Over	p. 121
Being There: Hill Styles and Home Styles	p. 123
Hill Styles	p. 124
Looking Homeward	p. 137
Office of the Member, Inc.	p. 145
Members and the Media	p. 151
Conclusion	p. 156
A Deliberative Assembly of One Nation
Leaders and Parties in Congress	p. 159
Leaders of the House	p. 160
Leaders of the Senate	p. 173
Selection of Leaders	p. 183
Leadership Activities	p. 184
Party Caucuses, Committees, and Informal Groups	p. 189
Party Continuity and Change	p. 192
Conclusion	p. 197
Committees: Workshops of Congress	p. 199
The Purposes of Committees	p. 200
Evolution of the Committee System	p. 202
Types of Committees	p. 203
The Assignment Process	p. 209
Committee Leadership	p. 217
Policy Making in Committee	p. 217
Committee Staff	p. 222
Committee Reform and Change	p. 224
Conclusion	p. 228
Congressional Rules and Procedures	p. 231
Introduction of Bills	p. 233
Referral of Bills	p. 236
Scheduling in the House	p. 238
House Floor Procedures	p. 246
Scheduling in the Senate	p. 250
Senate Floor Procedures	p. 253
Resolving House-Senate Differences	p. 257
Conclusion	p. 260
Decision Making in Congress	p. 263
The Power to Choose	p. 264
Types of Decisions	p. 265
Determinants of Voting	p. 273
Giving and Taking Cues	p. 282
Legislative Bargaining	p. 284
Conclusion	p. 289
Policy Making and Change in the Two Congresses
Congress and the President	p. 293
The President as Legislator	p. 294
Lobbying Congress	p. 308
Sources of Legislative-Executive Cooperation	p. 312
Sources of Legislative-Executive Conflict	p. 315
The Balance of Power	p. 317
Conclusion	p. 319
Congress, the Bureaucracy, and the Courts	p. 321
Congress Organizes the Executive Branch	p. 322
Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy	p. 335
Congress and the Courts	p. 342
Conclusion	p. 346
Congress and Organized Interests	p. 349
A Nation of Joiners	p. 349
Pressure Group Methods	p. 351
Groups and the Electoral Connection	p. 357
Groups and Legislative Politics	p. 361
Informal Groups of Members	p. 363
Regulation of Lobbying	p. 364
Conclusion	p. 368
Congress, Budgets, and Domestic Policy Making	p. 371
Definitions of Policy	p. 371
Stages of Policy Making	p. 372
Types of Domestic Policies	p. 375
Characteristics of Congressional Policy Making	p. 378
Congressional Budgeting	p. 380
The 1974 Budget Act	p. 386
The Dawn of the Surplus Era?	p. 389
Conclusion	p. 394
Congress and National Security Policies	p. 397
Constitutional Powers	p. 398
Who Speaks for Congress?	p. 399
Types of Foreign and National Security Policies	p. 401
Structural Policies	p. 402
Strategic Policies	p. 406
Crisis Policies: The War Powers	p. 414
Conclusion: Congress and Globalization	p. 418
Conclusion
The Two Congresses and the American People	p. 421
Congress-as-Politicians	p. 422
Congress-as-Institution	p. 426
Into the Third Century	p. 430
Reference Materials	p. 435
Party Control: Presidency, Senate, House, 1901-2001	p. 436
The Partisan Landscape, 2000: Presidential Voting by Congressional District	p. 438
Internships: Getting Experience on Capitol Hill	p. 440
Notes	p. 442
Suggested Readings	p. 483
Index	p. 489
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