The American Congress Reader provides a supplement to the popular and newly updated American Congress undergraduate textbook. By the same authors who drew upon Capitol Hill experience and nationally recognized scholarship to present a crisp introduction and analysis of Congress's inner mechanics, the Reader compiles the best relevant scholarship on party and committee systems, leadership, voting, and floor activity to broaden and illuminate the key features of the text.

Table of Contents

Part I. The American Congress: Modern Trends: 1. What is wrong with the American political system? John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse; 2. A reassessment of who's to blame David W. Brady and Sean M. Theriault; 3. Between the campaigns James A. Stimson; Part II. Representation and Lawmaking in Congress: The Constitutional and Historical Context: 4. U.S. Constitution, Articles I, II, III, and Amendments; 5. The Federalist, Nos. 10 and 51; 6. U.S. House members in their constituencies Richard A. Fenno, Jr.; 7. Collective vs. dyadic representation in Congress Robert Weissberg; Part III. Congressional Elections and Policy Alignments: 8. Elbridge Gerry's Salamander excerpt Gary W. Cox and Jonathan N. Katz; 9. Strategic politicians and the dynamics of U.S. House elections, 1946-86 Gary C. Jacobson; 10. Congress: the electoral connection David R. Mayhew; Part IV. Members, Goals, Resources, and Strategies: 11. Senate representation and coalition building in distributive politics Frances E. Lee; 12. Risk-bearing and progressive ambition David W. Rohde; 13. Issue Politics in Congress excerpts Tracy Sulkin; Part V. Parties and Leaders: 14. Institutional context and leadership style Joseph Cooper and David W. Brady; 15. Setting the agenda Gary W. Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins; 16. Party influences in Congress Steven S. Smith; Part VI. The Standing Committees: 17. Distributive and partisan issues in agriculture policy in the 104th House Mark S. Hurwitz, Roger J. Moiles and David W. Rohde; 18. Principals, goals, dimensionality, and Congressional committees Forrest Maltzman and Steven S. Smith; 19. Nonlegislative hearings and policy change in Congress Jeffrey C. Talbert, Bryan D. Jones and Frank R. Baumgartner; Part VII. The Rules of the Legislative Game: 20. Sample of a special rule; 21. Sample of a unanimous consent agreement; 22. On the effects of legislative rules Gary W. Cox; 23. The partisan basis of procedural choice Sarah A. Binder; 24. The evolution of agenda-setting institutions in congress Jason M. Roberts and Steven S. Smith; Part VIII. The Floor and Voting: 25. Greasing the Wheels excerpt Diana Evans; 26. Models of legislative voting John W. Kingdon; 27. Pivotal Politics excerpt Keith Krebhiel; Part IX. Congress and the President: 28. Presidential veto messages; 29. Presidential signing statement; 30. Veto bargaining Charles Cameron; 31. The dynamics of legislative gridlock, 1947-96 Sarah A. Binder; 32. The Politics of Shared Power excerpt Louis Fisher; 33. Conscience of a conservative Jeffrey Rosen; Part X. Congress and the Courts: 34. Senate voting on Supreme Court nominees Charles M. Cameron, Albert D. Cover and Jeffrey A. Segal; 35. From Abe Fortas to Zoe Baird Glen S. Krutz, Richard Fleisher and Jon R. Bond; Part XI. Congress, Lobbyists, and Interest Groups: 36. Buying time Richard L. Hall and Frank W. Wayman; 37. Legislative Lobbying excerpt John Wright; Part XII. Congress and Budget Politics: 38. Appropriations in the republican era Diana Evans; 39. Pet projects veil is only partly lifted John Solomon and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum; Part XIII. Further Readings on Congressional Politics: 40. Introduction to the spatial theory of legislating Steven S. Smith, Jason M. Roberts and Ryan J. Vander Wielen; 41. The institutional foundations of committee power Kenneth A. Shepsle and Barry R. Weingast; 42. The return to equilibrium Gerald S. Strom.

Author Biography

Steven S. Smith is Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has authored or co-authored seven books and many articles on congressional politics, including Call to Order: Floor Politics in the House and Senate, Party Influence in Congress, and Politics or Principle: Filibustering in the U.S. Senate, and has coauthored several articles and a book on Russian parliamentary politics. He is a former Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and has taught at the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and George Washington University. Jason M. Roberts is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include American politics, the U.S. Congress, elections, and Supreme Court nominations. He has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and Congress and the Presidency. Ryan J. Vander Wielen is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Temple University. He was previously a Fellow in the Political Institutions and Public Choice program at Michigan State University and at the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has recently been published in Political Analysis and Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.