Congress and Its Members

Congress and Its Members has been the gold standard for Congress courses for thirty years. Now in its 20th edition, the book offers comprehensive and current coverage of the U.S. Congress and the legislative process by examining the tension between Congress as a lawmaking institution and as a collection of politicians constantly seeking re-election.

The 20th Edition covers the outcomes of the 2024 election and subsequent changes in congressional organization and leadership. Updated coverage looks at how Congress operates in today′s polarized context, including recent procedural changes, policy debates, and interbranch dynamics, as well as a breakdown of data on the members of the new Congress.
 
Always balancing great scholarship with currency, the book features lively case material along with relevant data, charts, maps, and photos.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Part I: In Search of the Two Congresses Chapter 1: The Two Congresses The Dual Nature of Congress The Two Congresses in Comparative Context Divergent Views of Congress Chapter 2: Evolution of the Modern Congress Antecedents of Congress Congress in the Constitution Institutional Evolution Evolution of the Legislator’s Job Conclusion Part II: A Congress of Ambassadors Chapter 3: Going For It: Recruitment and Candidacy Formal Rules of the Game Districting in the House Becoming a Candidate Nominating Politics Conclusion Chapter 4: Making It: The Electoral Game Campaign Strategies Campaign Resources Campaign Techniques Who Votes? How Voters Decide Election Outcomes Conclusion Chapter 5: Being There: Hill Styles and Home Styles Hill Styles Looking Homeward Office of the Member Inc Members and the Media Conclusion Part III: A Deliberative Assembly of One Nation Chapter 6: Leaders and Parties in Congress Leaders of the House Leaders of the Senate Selection of Leaders Leadership Activities Party Caucuses, Committees, and Informal Groups Party Continuity and Change Conclusion Chapter 7: Committees: Workshops of Congress The Purposes of Committees Evolution of the Committee System Types of Committees The Assignment Process Committee Leadership Policy Making in Committee Committee Staff Committee Reform and Change Conclusion Chapter 8: Congressional Rules and Procedures Introduction of Bills Scheduling in the House House Floor Procedures Scheduling in the Senate Senate Floor Procedures Resolving House–Senate Differences Conclusion Chapter 9: Decision Making in Congress The Power to Choose Types of Decisions Determinants of Voting Legislative Bargaining Conclusion Part IV: Policy Making and Change in The Two Congresses Chapter 10: Congress and the President Constitutional Powers Leadership Sources of Legislative–Executive Conflict and Cooperation The Balance of Power Conclusion Chapter 11: Congress and the Bureaucracy Congress Organizes the Executive Branch Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy Conclusion Chapter 12: Congress and the Courts The Federal Courts The Supreme Court as Policy Maker Advice and Consent for Judicial Nominees Conclusion Chapter 13: Congress and Organized Interests American Pluralism Pressure Group Methods Groups and the Electoral Connection Groups, Lobbying, and Legislative Politics Regulation of Lobbying Conclusion Chapter 14: Congress, Budgets, and Domestic Policy Making Policy-Making Processes Types of Domestic Policies Characteristics of Congressional Policy Making Congressional Budgeting The 1974 Budget Act Conclusion Chapter 15: Congress and National Security Policies Constitutional Powers Who Speaks for Congress? The National Interest: Types of National-Security Policies Structural Policies Strategic Policies Crisis Policies: The War Powers Conclusion Part V: Conclusion Chapter 16: The Two Congresses and the American People Congress as the “Broken Branch” Congress’s Vital Role Twenty-First-Century Challenges Conclusion Appendix A: Party Control: Presidency, Senate, House, 1901–2023 Appendix B: Internships: Getting Experience on Capitol Hill Notes Index

About the Author :
Roger H. Davidson was professor emeritus of government and politics at the University of Maryland and served as visiting professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was a senior fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. During the 1970s, he served on the staffs of reform efforts in both the House (Bolling-Martin Committee) and the Senate (Stevenson-Brock Committee). For the 2001–2002 academic year, he served as the John Marshall chair in political science at the University of Debrecen, Hungary. His books include Remaking Congress: Change and Stability in the 1990s, co-edited with James A. Thurber (1995), and Understanding the Presidency, 7th ed., co-edited with James P. Pfiffner (2013). Davidson was co-editor with Donald C. Bacon and Morton Keller of The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress (1995).   Walter J. Oleszek is a senior specialist in the legislative process at the Congressional Research Service. He has served as either a full-time professional staff aide or consultant to many major House and Senate congressional reorganization efforts beginning with the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. In 1993, he served as policy director of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress. A former adjunct faculty member at American University, Oleszek is a frequent lecturer to various academic, governmental, and business groups. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, 11th ed. (2020), and Congress Under Fire: Reform Politics and the Republican Majority, with C. Lawrence Evans (1997). Frances E. Lee is professor of politics and public affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of Politics at Princeton University. She has been a research fellow at the Brookings Institution and an APSA congressional fellow. Most recently, she is co-author of The Limits of Party: Congress and Lawmaking in a Polarized Era (2020). She is also the author of Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign (2016) and Beyond Ideology: Politics, Principles, and Partisanship in the U.S. Senate (2009) and co-author, with Bruce I. Oppenheimer, of Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation (1999). Her articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and American Journal of Political Science, among others. Eric Schickler is Jeffrey & Ashley McDermott Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of three books that have won the Richard F. Fenno Jr. Prize for the best book on legislative politics: Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress (2001), Filibuster: Obstruction and Lawmaking in the United States Senate (2006, with Gregory Wawro), and Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power (2016, with Douglas Kriner; also a winner of the Richard E. Neustadt Prize for the best book on executive politics). His book Racial Realignment: The Transformation of American Liberalism, 1932–1965 was the winner of the Woodrow Wilson Prize for the best book on government, politics, or international affairs published in 2016, and is co-winner of the J. David Greenstone Prize for the best book in history and politics from the previous two calendar years. He is also the co-author of Partisan Hearts and Minds, which was published in 2002. James M. Curry is professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. He is coauthor of The Limits of Party: Congress and Lawmaking in a Polarized Era (2020); author of Legislating in the Dark: Information and Power in the House of Representatives (2015); and winner of the Alan Rosenthal Prize, the E. E. Schattschneider Award, and the Carl Albert Award. His research appears in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, and Legislative Studies Quarterly, among other outlets. He received his Ph.D. in government and politics from the University of Maryland, and he previously worked on Capitol Hill in the offices of Rep. Daniel Lipinski and the House Appropriations Committee.

Review :
Continues to meet the expectations created by prior editions.  Scholarly, accessible to undergrads, up-to-date with illustrations and discussion coming from the current 119th Congress.