In Defense of Congress

by Harris, Fred R.

• ISBN13: 9780312094560
• ISBN10: 0312094566
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-11-01
• Publisher: Cengage Learning

Summary

Former U.S. Senator Fred R. Harris draws on traditional and contemporary political science literature, recent journalism, legislative documents, and transcripts from television interviews to argue in favor of the effectiveness of Congress. In the text's prologue, he examines the reasons that many Americans feel that Congress is ineffective. Then, he devotes the text to exploring and debunking the forces that have created this sense in the American people.

Table of Contents

Prologue	1	(8)
PART I Members of Congress	9	(68)
Price, Pay, Perks, and Personnel	11	(35)
The Price of Congress	12	(4)
Cost Increases between World War II and the 1980s	13	(2)
Recent Costs	15	(1)
Congressional Pay	16	(16)
History of Congressional Pay	18	(3)
Cost-of-Living Adjustment	21	(2)
Comparison with Other Countries	23	(2)
Salaries and Congressional Responsibilities	25	(3)
Comparison with Other Professions	28	(4)
Congressional Perks and Patronage	32	(5)
Patronage	32	(1)
Member Perks	33	(4)
Congressional Personnel	37	(7)
Conclusion	44	(2)
Toward More Accountable Members	46	(31)
Term Limits	48	(11)
The Founders' Decision against Term Limits	49	(1)
Can States Adopt Term Limits?	50	(2)
Current Turnover in Congress	52	(2)
Term Limits and Accountability	54	(3)
Inexperienced Legislators and Special Interest Influence	57	(2)
Conclusion	59	(1)
Member Ethics	59	(4)
Changes in Congress	60	(1)
Changes in the Press	61	(1)
Changes Still Needed	62	(1)
The Power of Incumbency	63	(10)
Incumbent Advantages	66	(1)
How Incumbency Became Increasingly Important in Elections	67	(3)
Taxpayer-Financed Campaigning	70	(2)
Conclusion	72	(1)
Campaign Finance Reform	73	(3)
The Gap between Incumbent and Challenger	74	(1)
Reform Bills	75	(1)
Summary	76	(1)
PART II Congress as an Institution	77	(58)
An Unpopular but Responsive Congress	79	(30)
General Cynicism toward Government	80	(1)
Difficulty of Current Issues	81	(1)
Nature of Congress	82	(5)
Public Perceptions of the Nature of Congress	83	(2)
Congress in the 1950s	85	(2)
Changes of the 1960s and Afterward	87	(2)
A Congress of Individuals	89	(3)
Postreform Changes in Congress	89	(2)
Representation versus Lawmaking	91	(1)
A Conflictual Congress	92	(15)
Structural Conflict	92	(1)
Presidential-Congressional Conflict	93	(8)
Partisan Conflict	101	(6)
Summary	107	(2)
Toward a More Responsible Congress	109	(26)
Senate Procedural Reforms	111	(7)
Change in Senate Norms after the 1950s	112	(2)
The Senate Filibuster Today	114	(4)
Congressional Committee Reform	118	(9)
Functions of Committees	119	(1)
Growth in Committee Assignments	120	(4)
Separation of Spending Authorization and Appropriations	124	(2)
Remedial Proposals	126	(1)
Budget Reform	127	(7)
Authorization and Appropriations	128	(2)
Failures of the 1974 Reform	130	(1)
Reform Proposals	131	(3)
Summary	134	(1)
Epilogue	135	(10)
Notes	145	(24)
Index	169