Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Incorporating the crucial updates and new research you expect, the thirteenth edition of Congress and Its Members remains a trusted resource for introducing students to the legislative branch. As thousands of undergraduates have learned, focusing on Congress as not only a legislative body, but also as a group of reelection-minded politicians, is an extraordinarily effective way to understand the institution and the law-making process.
In addition to featuring new examples and cases drawn from recent congressional politics--including the battles over health care reform, financial regulations, economic stimulus, fiscal management, and tax policy--the authors also integrate new scholarship on representation, congressional elections, lobbying influence, and the relationship between Congress and the Court.
The thirteenth edition also features analysis of:
- the 2010 congressional campaigns and elections;
- party and leadership changes for the 112th Congress;
- executive-legislative relations under President Obama;
- new procedures in the House and Senate;
- budgeting in an era of huge deficits;
- the heightened importance of lobbyists in legislative policymaking;
- public attitudes about Congress as dysfunctional, even corrupt; and
- the courts and their impact on the interpretation of congressional statutes, the scope of congressional power, and the reach of statutory campaign finance regulations.