Congress and Its Members

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

• ISBN13: 9781568024332
• ISBN10: 1568024339
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Congressional Quarterly Inc

Summary

Dizzying change and momentous constitutional conflicts have consumed the U.S. Congress in recent months. For anyone who wants to keep pace with events on Capitol Hill and make sense of the complex business of lawmaking, the new Seventh Edition of Congress and Its Members is an invaluable resource.

Thoroughly updated with new material integrated throughout, the Seventh Edition sheds light on such essential questions as: What are the likely effects of the impeachment proceedings and "the politics of scandal"? Can the president and Congress govern effectively in the wake of such turmoil? Will citizens feel an impact from the recent changes in the budget process and the new era of surplus? As diversity emerges among the members of the House and Senate, are there accompanying changes in lawmaking and policy outcomes?

Davidson and Oleszek skillfully place these and other recent developments and trends in the broader historical context and analytical framework essential for understanding how Congress works. The book is lively and informative, and it includes an ab

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	xi
Part 1 In Search of the Two Congresses	1	(40)
The Two Congresses	3	(10)
The Dual Nature of Congress	4	(5)
Divergent Views of Congress	9	(4)
Evolution of the Modern Congress	13	(28)
Antecedents of Congress	13	(4)
Congress in the Constitution	17	(9)
Institutional Evolution	26	(8)
Evolution of the Legislator's Job	34	(5)
Conclusion	39	(2)
Part 2 A Congress of Ambassadors	41	(120)
Going for It: Recruitment Roulette	43	(46)
Formal Rules of the Game	44	(4)
Districting in the House	48	(13)
Becoming a Candidate	61	(10)
Nominating Politics	71	(3)
The Money Factor	74	(12)
Conclusion	86	(3)
Making It: The Electoral Game	89	(38)
Campaign Strategies	89	(3)
Campaign Resources	92	(7)
Campaign Techniques	99	(5)
The Parallel Campaigns	104	(2)
Who Votes?	106	(2)
How Voters Decide	108	(13)
Election Outcomes	121	(4)
After the Election Is Over	125	(2)
Being There: Hill Styles and Home Styles	127	(34)
Hill Styles	127	(14)
Looking Homeward	141	(9)
Office of the Member, Inc.	150	(5)
Members and the Media	155	(5)
Conclusion	160	(1)
Part 3 A Deliberative Assembly of One Nation	161	(122)
Leaders and Parties in Congress	163	(34)
Leaders of the House	164	(13)
Leaders of the Senate	177	(6)
Selection of Leaders	183	(1)
Leadership Activities	184	(3)
Party Caucuses, Committees, and Informal Groups	187	(3)
Party Continuity and Change	190	(4)
Conclusion	194	(3)
Committees: Workshops of Congress	197	(30)
The Purposes of Committees	198	(2)
Evolution of the Committee System	200	(1)
Types of Committees	201	(5)
The Assignment Process	206	(7)
Committee Leadership	213	(1)
Policy Making in Committee	214	(5)
Committee Staff	219	(2)
Committee Reform and Change	221	(3)
Conclusion	224	(3)
Congressional Rules and Procedures	227	(30)
Introduction of Bills	229	(4)
Referral of Bills	233	(2)
Scheduling in the House	235	(8)
House Floor Procedures	243	(4)
Scheduling in the Senate	247	(2)
Senate Floor Procedures	249	(4)
Resolving House-Senate Differences	253	(1)
Conclusion	254	(3)
Decision Making in Congress	257	(26)
The Power to Choose	258	(1)
Types of Decisions	259	(7)
Determinants of Voting	266	(9)
Giving and Taking Cues	275	(2)
Legislative Bargaining	277	(4)
Conclusion	281	(2)
Part 4 Policy Making and Change in the Two Congresses	283	(139)
Congress and the President	285	(26)
The President as Legislator	286	(11)
Lobbying Congress	297	(4)
Sources of Legislative-Executive Cooperation	301	(3)
Sources of Legislative-Executive Conflict	304	(2)
The Balance of Power	306	(2)
Conclusion	308	(3)
Congress, the Bureaucracy, and the Courts	311	(24)
Congress Organizes the Executive Branch	312	(12)
Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy	324	(6)
Congress and the Courts	330	(3)
Conclusion	333	(2)
Congress and Organized Interests	335	(20)
A Nation of Joiners	335	(2)
Pressure Group Methods	337	(5)
Groups and the Electoral Connection	342	(4)
Groups and Legislative Politics	346	(2)
Informal Groups of Members	348	(2)
Regulation of Lobbying	350	(3)
Conclusion	353	(2)
Congress, Budgets, and Domestic Policy Making	355	(26)
Definitions of Policy	355	(1)
Stages of Policy Making	356	(3)
Types of Domestic Policies	359	(3)
Characteristics of Congressional Policy Making	362	(3)
Congressional Budgeting	365	(5)
The 1974 Budget Act	370	(1)
Changes in the Budget Process	371	(8)
Conclusion	379	(2)
Congress and National Security Policies	381	(26)
Constitutional Powers	382	(1)
Types of Foreign and National Security Policies	383	(1)
Structural Policies	383	(4)
Strategic Policies	387	(6)
Crisis Policies: The War Powers	393	(5)
Who Speaks for Congress?	398	(2)
The Ebb and Flow of Power	400	(4)
Conclusion	404	(3)
Conclusion	405	(2)
The Two Congresses and the American People	407	(15)
Congress-as-Politicians	408	(5)
Congress-as-Institution	413	(4)
Into the Third Century	417	(5)
Reference Materials	421	(1)
Appendix A. Party Control: Presidency, Senate, House, 1901--1999	422	(2)
Appendix B. Internships: Getting Experience on Capitol Hill	424	(2)
Notes	426	(49)
Suggested Readings	475	(8)
Index	483