US Congress

CMC Gov 101, Spring 2008 

Monday and Wednesday 1:15-2:30  Classroom:  RN-105

J.J. Pitney -- Office: Pitzer 215

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/govt/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:

Fantasy Congress

You will also play Fantasy Congress (www.fantasycongress.com).  Our league name is "Simulation Mavens."  There is no penalty for low scores, but you should field a team and be ready to talk about it in class.

Grades

 The following will make up your course grade:

One three-page essay                             

15%

One five-page essay                              

20%

Legislative simulation                                

 25%

A sit-down final exam                            

30%

Class participation/Fantasy Congress/blog                     

10%

 

Details

Required Books

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

Jan 23:  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 28, 30: Two Chambers, Two Congresses     

"We understand the speaker can pass bills only with Democratic votes. And we know she understands the Constitution and the closely divided Senate requires Senator Reid to pick up 20 percent of Senate Republicans just to get a vote on something, let alone pass it."  -- Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

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? 

Feb 4, 6: Elections I              

"This is the people’s Congress. And most of the people don’t care which party controls it; what they want is a government that is limited, honest, accountable, and responsive to their needs. The moment a majority forgets this lesson, it begins writing itself a ticket to minority status." -- John Boehner (R-OH), opening day of the 110th Congress.

What is campaign strategy?  How do House and Senate elections differ?  Why did Republicans lose control of Congress in 2006?

THREE-PAGE ESSAY ASSIGNED FEB 4, DUE FEBRUARY 13.  

READ STRUNK AND WHITE FIRST.

 

Feb 11, 13: Elections II

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

What tactics do congressional candidates use?  Where do they get campaign money?

Feb 18, 20: Leaders 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?

ONE-PAGE MEMO ON SIMULATION ROLE DUE FEBRUARY 20.

Feb 25, 27: 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?

FIVE-PAGE PAPER ASSIGNED FEBRUARY 25, DUE MARCH 10.

Mar 3, 5:  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?     

Mar 10, 12: 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, 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?

Mar 17, 19: Spring Break

Mar 24, 26:  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?

Mar 31-Apr 3: Legislative Simulation -- Legislative sessions may run from Monday through Friday nights.  Leave evenings open. 

“Termination of fecundation.” -- 1998 simulation

April 7, 9: 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?

April 14, 16: 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?

SIMULATION WRITEUP DUE APRIL 14.

April 21, 23: 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, incoming 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?

Apr 28, 30: 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?

May 5, 7:  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? 

FINAL EXAMINATION: MONDAY, MAY 12, 2:00 PM 

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