Congress

This week, we discuss Congress. On Monday, we shall look at Congress as an institution, then move to the behavior of individual members.

Review the standing of your Fantasy Congress team. What accounts for your players' performance?

From last week's selections, reread Tocqueville's comparison of the House and Senate (pp. 200-201). And look at this week's selection (on congressional debate). Do his observations still apply?

Over the summer, there was a partisan fight over a contested floor vote in the House. Read about it here. And see it here. This fight obviously reflected the partisan polarization that we have discussed. As we shall see in class, however, this incident has precedents going back twenty years, under both Democratic and Republican control. What does such conflict say about party power in the House of Representatives?

As for Charlie's questions:

1. It is a good question, but hard to answer. They almost never read the bills in the first place.
2. An early source is Bauer, Pool, and Dexter, American Business and Public Policy (1963).
3. It is legal because Congress has not banned the practice -- and probably could not. Suggesting legislative language enjoys the protection of the First Amendment.