The American Congress

Steven S. Smith, Jason M. Roberts, Ryan J. Vander Wielen

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781107654358
• eBook ISBN: 9781139120340
• Edition: 7
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Amerikanische Regierung

The American Congress provides the most current treatment of congressional politics available in an undergraduate text. Informed by the authors' Capitol Hill experience and scholarship, this book presents a crisp introduction to major features of Congress: parties and committee systems, leadership, voting and floor activity. This text contains discussions of the importance of presidents, courts and interest groups in congressional policy making. Recent developments are also discussed within the context of congressional political history. The seventh edition includes complete coverage of the first Congress of the Obama presidency, the 2010 midterm elections, healthcare reform and an early perspective on the 112th Congress with a Republican majority.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 The American Congress
• 2 Representation and Lawmaking in Congress
• 3 Congressional Elections and Policy Alignments
• 4 Members, Goals, Resources, and Strategies
• 5 Parties and Leaders
• 6 The Standing Committees
• 7 The Rules of the Legislative Game
• 8 The Floor and Voting
• 9 Congress and the President
• 10 Congress and the Courts
• 11 Congress, Lobbyists, and Interest Groups
• 12 Congress and Budget Politics
• Appendix Introduction to the Spatial Theory of Legislating
• Suggested Readings
• Index