Table of Contents

1. The American Congress: modern trends; 2. Representation and lawmaking in Congress: the constitutional and historical context; 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 model of legislating.

Promotional Information

The American Congress is an up-to-date, well-informed undergraduate textbook on congressional politics.

About the Author

Steven S. Smith is Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has authored or coauthored seven books and many articles on congressional politics, including Politics or Principle: Filibustering in the U.S. Senate (Brookings), and coauthored several articles and a book on Russian parliamentary politics. He is a former Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and has taught at the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and George Washington University. Jason M. Roberts is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include American politics, the U.S. Congress, elections, and Supreme Court nominations. He has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and Congress and the Presidency. Ryan J. Vander Wielen is a Graduate Fellow at the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He publishes articles on congressional politics and elections and has published recently Political Analysis and the Loyola Law Review.