Congress Explained: Representation and Lawmaking in the First Branch

by Casey Burgat, Charles Hunt

Overview

Congress Explained: Representation and Lawmaking in the First Branch helps students understand the individual members who operate the pulls-and-levers of the branch to achieve their legislative goals. Instead of introducing Congress through abstract theories or a list of procedures and processes, Casey Burgat and Charles Hunt walk students through the inner workings of Congress and how its members have come to see their jobs as representatives. Beyond passing legislation, representation includes how members communicate with their constituents, act in their home districts, and reflect the people whom they are tasked to serve. Discussing member motivations, purposes, backgrounds, and constraints allows students to thoroughly engage with how Congress, government, and politics fulfill their core responsibilities to the American people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071841501
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	11/17/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	640,648
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Casey Burgat is an Assistant Professor and the director of the Legislative Affairs program at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. Prior to joining GWU, Dr. Burgat was a Senior Governance Fellow at the R Street Institute where his research focused on issues of congressional capacity and reform. Dr. Burgat writes regularly for both scholarly and journalistic publications, including CNN, the Washington Post, Politico, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and Congress and the Presidency. He regularly appears on a variety of television and radio outlets. 

Previously, Casey served as a staffer at the Congressional Research Service. There served in the Executive Branch Operations and the Congress&Judiciary sections. There, he was responsible for responding to congressional requests about federal rulemaking, issues of congressional reform, the president’s role in federal budgeting, federal advisory committees and congressional staffing.

Casey received a masters degree from George Washington University and his doctorate in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Sara and two children.
 
Charles Hunt is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in Boise State University’s School of Public Service. He is also the author of Home Field Advantage: Roots, Reelection, and Representation in the Modern Congress, which assesses the local roots that members of Congress do (or do not) have in the local communities they represent, and the representational and electoral consequences of these roots. 

He conducts research broadly on Congress, elections, representation, and political geography that has appeared in academic journals like American Politics Research, Congress and the Presidency, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. His research has also been featured in journalistic outlets like the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Brookings Institution.

Charlie received a bachelors degree in Political Science from Brown University before serving as Director of Public Affairs for a political consulting firm in Providence, Rhode Island. He then received his doctorate in Government&Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2019. He currently lives in Boise, Idaho with his wife Keara and his dog Rhody.
 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction: A Broken Congress?
Chapter 2: Mastering the Basics: House and Senate
Chapter 3: Representation: Congress and their Constituents
Chapter 4: Congressional Elections: The Pathway to Congress
Chapter 5: Parties in Congress: Power and Polarization
Chapter 6: The Congressional Committee System: Dividing the Workload
Chapter 7: Policymaking in the Gridlock Era
Chapter 8: The Congressional Budget Process: Follow the Money
Chapter 9: Congress and the President: The Two Ends of Pennsylvania Avenue
Chapter 10: Congress, the Courts, and the Bureaucracy: Non-Legislator Legislating
Chapter 11: Congress and External Influencers – Interest Groups, Activists, and Media
Chapter 12: Conclusion: The Congress We Deserve

Editorial Reviews

"It makes the complexities of Congress more accessible to students who really do not understand the institution outside of Schoolhouse Rock. "

Mary L. Carver

Congress Explained provides a fresh look at how Congress works. In contrast to many other textbooks on Congress, it places representation - the link between citizens and lawmakers - as a central focus. In particular, the book's emphasis on the role of money in driving legislative behavior and influencing democratic outcomes brings the study of Congress into the 21st century and offers a realistic and interesting approach to legislative politics in the era of polarization and perpetual campaigning.

Alex Keena

"An excellent book to tell the story of the institution of Congress while highlighting its individual members - which is so hard to pull off. But this book does it very well."

Leah A. Murray

"This textbook cuts through the idealized and obsolete descriptions of how Congress works in order to explain what really makes the contemporary Congress tick in all of its dysfunctional functionality. "

Anthony Dell'Aera

"This book sets the standard for Congress textbooks! "

Elizabeth Dorssom