The Cost of Congress

What Americans Get for Their Money

Karen Kunz, Stavros Atsas

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781440858000
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798216066705
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Monetary Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Congressional ratings have fallen to single digits; citizens believe that Congress fails to do the things its members are publicly paid to do. What does Congress do for our dollars, and how has that changed in the last 50 years?

What was the cost to taxpayers for Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings? What about the Benghazi investigation and efforts to obtain the votes required to repeal Obamacare while failing to consider Zika virus funding bills? What is the true cost of earmarks? Why do Congress members continue to get paid during government shutdowns?

Congress's increasing use of continuing resolutions and agencies' almost semiannual preparations for government shutdowns come at a significant cost. Combining extensive documentary research with interviews of current and former members and staffers, The Cost of Congress assesses not only how Congress spends tax dollars on its operations but also what Americans receive for those dollars.

Kunz and Atsas assign dollar values, using federal data, to congressional practices and policies. They examine the costs of producing legislation, court challenges, and Supreme Court reversals. They also look at the costs of committee and special investigations, committee assignments, staffing and facilities, and such perks as the gym, meals, and franking. Readers-taxpayers from all walks of life-will come away with a comprehensive view of the costs of operating Congress.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Constitution
• Chapter 2: The Institution
• Chapter 3: The House of Representatives
• Chapter 4: The Senate
• Chapter 5: The Legislative Partners
• Chapter 6: The Power of the Purse
• Chapter 7: The Scoreboard
• Appendices
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Authors