            
 |
|
|
An Introduction to the U.S. Congress
E-text available Click here to preview or purchase. |
||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
Comments/Reviews
Description: What is the proper Constitutional role of Congress? How does Congress make and remake American public policy? Is Congress up to the challenges ahead?
This book answers these questions and provides insights into the sometimes contradictory congressional reponsibilities of representation and lawmaking. Drawing on his experience as a former legislative staff member, the author explores the different political natures of the House and Senate, examines Congress's interaction with other branches of the Federal government, and looks ahead to the domestic and foreign challenges that are likely to drive the Congressional agenda for decades to come.
The result is a concise primer on this most important, misunderstood, and often maligned institution of democratic government in the United States. It includes a case study (on the formation of the Department of Homeland Security) that sheds light on Congress's often complicated procedures. The book also includes boxed features on Congressional action--highlighting such topics as file sharing and student loans--that show students how Congress's work affects their lives. Chapter-ending lists of web resources add to the book's usefulness.
Selected Contents:
Tables and Figures
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Congress and Public Policymaking
Public Policymaking in Washington
Policy Types
Policy Patterns
How to Read This Book
2. Origins and Evolution of the Congressional System
Civil War and Revolution: Britain and Tyranny
Revolution in America: A Cromwell Flashback
The Constitutional Settlement
Evolution of Government Since the Constitution
Summary
I. Competing Roles: Lawmaker and Representative
3. Speaking for the People: The Majoritarian House
The Logic of the House: Representation over Legislation
Organizing the House
Members of the House
Parties and Leaders in the House
Committees
Majority Rule in the House
House Leadership and Legislation
Committee Action
Floor Action in the House
The Founders and the House Today
Summary
4. Representing the States: The Individualistic Senate
Legislation and Representation
Serving in the Senate
Senate Committees
Parties and the Senate
A Senate Full of Leaders?
The Floor of the Senate: Where the Action Is
"Advice and Consent": The Senate's Special Powers
The Senate and the Framers
Summary
II. Enforcing Policy Decisions
5. The Oversight Power
What Is Oversight?
Committee Oversight
Congressional Agency Oversight
Beyond Regular Oversight
Assessing Congressional Oversight
Summary
6. The Power of the Purse
Congress and the Federal Budget
The Development of the Budget Process
The Budget and Appropriations Process Today
Running, or Ruining, the Calendar?
Congress's Money Committees
The Tax Committees
The Committees on the Budget
The Committees on Appropriations
Assessing Congress's Power of the Purse
Summary
7. The Organizing Power
Organization as Policy
Development of the Executive Branch
Organization and Reorganization Since the Progressives
Congress and the Challenge of Reorganization
Reorganization Within Jurisdictions
Major Reorganizations
Assessing Congress and the Organizing Power
Summary
III. Congress and Emerging Challenges
8. Using the Three Powers: Creating DHS
The Challenge: Coordination, Intelligence, and Response
Interagency Coordination
Intelligence Demands in a New World
Responding to New Challenges
A New Department for Homeland Security?
Timeline: October 2001 to November 2002
The Department Takes Shape
Assessment: The Three Powers Are Tricky!
1947: Creating the Defense Department
Summary
9. Conclusions
The Framers and Change
Congress Today, and into the Future
Two Centuries of Success
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Comment(s): "Chuck Cushman, a long-time student of defense and foreign policy, understands the inner workings of the Congress. Students of the institution are fortunate that he has now translated that knowledge into a lively and readable text." -- The Honorable David Price, U.S. Representative (D-NC) and author of The Congressional Experience
"Cushman provides a rich historical and theoretical treatment of the roles, organization, and processes of Congress in accessible and compelling fashion. An Introduction to the U.S. Congress is an important contribution to the understanding of the dynamics and complexity of the policymaking process." -- Daniel J. Kaufman, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Retired) and former Dean of the Academic Board, U.S. Military Academy
"An essential text that clearly reflects Cushman's outstanding professional reputation as an award-winning teacher and highly regarded former Congressional staffer and policy analyst. If you are an instructor looking for the perfect text for undergraduates, this is the book. If you are new to Washington and want to understand the workings of Congress, this is the book. If you live outside 'The Beltway' but now realize just how important Congress is to your future, this is the book." -- Jay Parker, Center for the Study of the Presidency
Review(s): ... a basic introduction to the United States Congress written specifically for undergraduate college students. Cushman provides a solid and useful approach to explaining how members of Congress make public policy. Beginning with an explanation of the components of Washington policymaking, he outlines policy types and patterns before deftly explaining the context of the mindset of the authors of the Constitution as they created Congress. The chapter titled 'The Origins and Evolution of the Congressional System' is one of the best brief treatments of the subject one can find in print. The second part of the book contrasts the sometimes conflicting congressional roles of making laws and representing the nation. (continued below)
Important topics such as organizing the House and Senate; the roles played by political parties; committees and subcommittees; and chamber floor action are explained. Throughout these two chapters Cushman deftly contrasts the 'majoritarian House' with the 'individualist Senate.' The next section explains how Congress enforces its policy decisions. Chapter-length attention is devoted to congressional oversight powers, power of the purse, and organizing/reorganizing powers over the executive branch. The author assesses the success of Congress in exercising its institutional powers within each of the three arenas. The book concludes with a brief case study of Congress creating the Department of Homeland Security . In sum, Cushman has produced a distinctive basic explanation of how Congress works. He is particularly skilled at providing the constitutional, historic, and legal context in which the institution operates. Perspectives on Political Science
    
|