Congress Class

US Congress

CMC Gov 101, Spring 2009

Monday and Wednesday 1:15-2:30 Classroom: RN-15

J.J. Pitney -- Office: D16 Center Court

Telephone: 909/607-4224

Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 11AM-noon, 4:15-5:15 PM

If these times are inconvenient, please make an appointment

Email: jpitney@cmc.edu Alternate email: profpitney@yahoo.com

Web: http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/facultysites/govt/FacMember/JPitney/

See also my Congress Links page.

General

Like a vast picture thronged with figures of equal prominence and crowded with elaborate and obtrusive details, Congress is hard to see satisfactorily and appreciatively at a single view and from a single stand-point. Its complicated forms and diversified structure confuse the vision, and conceal the system which underlies its composition. It is too complex to be understood without effort, without a careful and systematic process of analysis.

-- Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government

In this course, we shall undertake such analysis. We shall ask how lawmakers behave at home and on Capitol Hill. We shall study Congress's procedures and structures, with an eye to explaining why some bills pass while others languish.

Classes

Class sessions will include lecture and discussion. Finish each week's readings before class because our discussions will involve those readings. We shall also talk about breaking news stories about Congress, so you must read a good daily news source such as The Politico, New York Times, Washington Post or ABC's The Note

Blog

Our class blog is at http://gov101.blogspot.com. I shall post videos, graphs, news stories, and other material there. We shall use some of this material in class, and you may review the rest at your convenience. You will all receive invitations to post to the blog. (Please let me know if you do not get such an invitation.) I encourage you to use the blog in these ways:

To post questions or comments about the readings before we discuss them in class;
To follow up on class discussions with additional comments or questions.
To post relevant news items or videos.

Grades

The following will make up your course grade:

One three-page essay	15%
One five-page essay	20%
Legislative simulation	25%
A take-home final exam	25%
Class participation/blog	15%

Details

The papers will develop your research and writing skills. In grading your papers, I will take account of the quality of your writing, applying the principles of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. If you object to this approach, do not take this course, or anything else that I teach.
The simulation will require you to study your part and spend several sessions in character. Do not take this class if you cannot take part in the simulation.
The exam will test your comprehension of course material.
Class participation will hone your ability to think on your feet, as I shall call on students at random. If you often miss class or fail to prepare, your grade will suffer. Because we have a take-home exam instead of a sit-down, I shall use the cold calls to judge how well you are keeping up with the material. If you object to this approach, do not take this course. I also expect you to post relevant material to the blog.
In addition to the required readings (below), I may also give you handouts, emails, and web links covering current events and basic factual information. The exam may cover this material.
As a courtesy to your fellow students, please arrive on time, and refrain from eating in class.
Check due dates for coursework and the exam. Arrange your schedule accordingly. Do not plan on extensions.
Plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in referral to the Academic Standards Committee. See: http://registrar.claremontmckenna.edu/acpolicy/plagiarism.asp.

Required Books

Ross K. Baker, House and Senate, 4th ed. (New York: Norton, 2008).
Roger H. Davidson, Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee, Congress and Its Members, 11th ed. (Washington: CQ Press, 2008).
Louis Fisher, Constitutional Conflicts Between Congress and the President, 5th ed. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2007).
John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage (New York: HarperCollins, 2006 [1955]).

Schedule The schedule is subject to change, with advance notice.

Jan 21: Introduction

"Ron Howard is about to make a risky career move. His friend and collaborator, Russell Crowe, is waxing poetic about Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal and laws passed by Parliament to battle the Great Depression when Howard musters the courage to interrupt the star. `Pssst,' Howard says, leaning over, his mouth cupped. `It's Congress. Congress passes the laws in the U.S.'" -- USA Today 5-24-05

What are the major functions of Congress?

Jan 26, 28: Two Chambers, Two Congresses

“Once in a while, you’ve got to let them filibuster and call their bluff. It’s not my position to tell the Senate how to do its business, but when time and time and time again, it affects the work we need to do for the American people, it becomes the House’s business.” -- Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)

What are the "two Congresses"? Do lawmakers present different faces on Capitol Hill and at home? What are the major differences between the House and Senate?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 1-2.
Fisher, ch. 1
Baker, ch.1

THREE-PAGE ESSAY ASSIGNED JAN 28, DUE FEBRUARY 9.

READ STRUNK AND WHITE FIRST.

Feb 2, 4: Elections I

"I think Katrina just did us a big favor, to be crass about it." -- Then-DCCC chair Rahm Emanuel, 2005.

Who runs for the House and Senate? How do House and Senate elections differ?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 3
Baker, ch. 4
Bendavid, ch. 3-5
Play "The Redistricting Game" at http://www.redistrictinggame.org/index.php?pg=game

Feb 9, 11: Elections II

"Rahm never stabs you in the back. He stabs you in front." -- an unnamed friend of his.

What is campaign strategy? What tactics do congressional candidates use? How do lawmakers exploit incumbency?

Feb 16, 18: Leaders, Followers and Parties

"Having five children in six years is the best training in the world for speaker of the House. It made me the ultimate multitasker and the master of focus, routine and scheduling." -- Nancy Pelosi

Do leaders drive the rank-and-file members, or merely reflect their views? What is the connection between congressional parties and electoral parties? How does majority or minority status change the way lawmakers do their work?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 5-6
Baker, ch. 3
Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, "The Johnson System," in The Legislative Process in the US Senate, eds. Lawrence K. Pettit and Edward Keynes (Chicago: Rand-McNally, 1969).

ONE-PAGE MEMO ON SIMULATION ROLE DUE FEBRUARY 18.

Feb 23, 25: Legislative Process I

"The problem with hotlining bills is they don't get due deliberation. Here is a stack of bills that were offered by unanimous consent in the Senate before the August break. Most of the Senators had never read the bills, didn't know what was in the bills. Thankfully, many of them were objected to by Members of the Senate. It is not a good way to legislate." -- Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).

Do lawmakers actually read or write the bills? What are the strategies and tactics of legislative drafting? What do committees do? How do they differ from one another?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 7.
Baker, ch. 2, 6
Victoria Nourse and Jane Schacter, "The Politics of Legislative Drafting: A Congressional Case Study," New York University Law Review 77 (June 2002), at: http://famguardian.org/TaxFreedom/LegalRef/StatConstruction/Nourse.pdf

FIVE-PAGE PAPER ASSIGNED FEBRUARY 25, DUE MARCH 11.

Mar 2, 4: Legislative Process II

“If you let me write procedure and I let you write substance, I'll screw you every time.” -- Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)

How does the majority try to control the floor? How can the minority overcome the majority's procedural advantage? How does Congress deliberate on issues?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch 8-9.
Baker, ch. 7.
Barbara Sinclair, "Orchestrators of Unorthodox Lawmaking: Pelosi and McConnell in the 110^th Congress," The Forum 6 (2008, Iss. 3, Article 4) at.
http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol6/iss3/art4

Mar 9, 11: Congress and the President

"I was removed from office after being found not guilty, and here we are talking we cannot censure. Today we have reached the zenith of unfairness. Our military, under the aegis of our President, is attempting to downgrade weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and we are en masse as a body degrading the institution of the presidency." -- Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), during the Clinton impeachment

In the struggle between Congress and the president, what circumstances favor each side? How does the president try to influence Congress?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 10
Fisher, ch. 5-6.
Readings on President Obama & Congress, TBA

Mar 16, 18: Spring Break

Mar 23, 25: Congress and the Bureaucracy

"Can I quit now? Can I go home?" -- FEMA director Michael Brown, during Hurricane Katrina

How do bureaucratic and congressional structures affect each other? Do "iron triangles" actually exist? How well does Congress oversee the bureaucracy?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 11.
Fisher, ch. 2-4

Mar 30-Apr 2: Legislative Simulation -- Legislative sessions may run from Monday through Friday nights. Leave evenings open.

“Termination of fecundation.” -- 1998 simulation

April 6, 8: Congress, Courts, and Interests

"Depending on whose party is running the show, the arguments about how judges should be confirmed has gone back and forth like a windshield wiper. When the GOP was out of power, Republicans pounded the table about their responsibility to study the records of the nominees, while the Democrats insisted the president deserved deference. Flip things around and — boom — the Republicans want deference and the Dems bust out the Federalist Papers." -- Jonah Goldberg

In the relationship between Congress and interest groups, which is more prevalent: bribery by lobbyists, or extortion by lawmakers? How does the Senate appraise court nominees? How do interest groups affect the confirmation process?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 12-13
Baker, ch. 5.

April 13, 15: Budgets and Domestic Policy

"They sought to secure money for their favorite causes outside of the congressional appropriations process -- a practice that lobbyists and appropriations insiders call `phonemarking.'" -- Washington Post report on how lawmakers reacted to curbs on "earmarking"

How does Congress manage budgets, appropriations, and revenue legislation? How much federal spending is controllable? How do budgetary and policy goals shape each other?

Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 14.
Fisher, ch. 7.
U.S. Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 2009).

SIMULATION WRITEUP DUE APRIL 15.

April 20, 22: National Security, Homeland Security, and Foreign Policy

Al Qaeda is what, I asked, Sunni or Shia?

“Al Qaeda, they have both,” Reyes said. “You’re talking about predominately?”

“Sure,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“Predominantly — probably Shiite,” he ventured.

He couldn’t have been more wrong. Al Qaeda is profoundly Sunni. If a Shiite showed up at an al Qaeda club house, they’d slice off his head and use it for a soccer ball. -- Jeff Stein interview with Silvestre Reyes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee

Can Congress effectively check the executive branch in wartime? Do lawmakers have the expertise and information to make decisions about national and homeland security?

Davidson and Oleszek, ch. 15.
Fisher, ch. 8, 9.
Reading on current foreign policy issue TBA.

Apr 27, 29: Reviewing Congressional History I

"It quickly became clear that there is nothing new or unusual about the pattern of sharp partisanship shown in the past two presidential elections and in the frequent battles on Capitol Hill. David Brady of Stanford University made the point that the late 19th century and parts of the 20th century were also times of party warfare; the anomaly was the relative truce for roughly 25 years after World War II." -- David Broder

How does today's Congress compare with that of the past? Have lawmakers gotten better or worse?

Kennedy, ch. 1-7.

May 4, 6: Reviewing Congressional History II

"It may take courage to battle one's president, one's party, or the overwhelming sentiment of one's nation; but these do not compare, it seems to me, to the courage required of the Senate defying the angry power of the very constituents who control his future." -- John F. Kennedy

Will Congress yield more ground to the White House? Have the two chambers become more alike? Are the two Congresses ultimately compatible?

Kennedy 8-11
Davidson & Oleszek, ch. 16.
Fisher, ch. 10

FINAL EXAMINATION DUE IN CLASS ON MAY 6.

Return to homepage