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Congress and Its Members
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Congress and Its Members

20th Edition
October 2025 | 608 pages | CQ Press
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Congress and Its Members has been the gold standard for Congress courses for thirty years. Now in its 20th edition, the book offers comprehensive and current coverage of the U.S. Congress and the legislative process by examining the tension between Congress as a lawmaking institution and as a collection of politicians constantly seeking re-election.

The 20th Edition covers the outcomes of the 2024 election and subsequent changes in in congressional organization and leadership. Updated coverage looks at how Congress operates in today's polarized context, including recent procedural changes, policy debates, and interbranch dynamics, as well as a breakdown of data on the members of the new Congress.
 
Always balancing great scholarship with currency, the book features lively case material along with relevant data, charts, maps, and photos.
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Part I: In Search of the Two Congresses
 
Chapter 1: The Two Congresses
The Dual Nature of Congress

 
The Two Congresses in Comparative Context

 
Divergent Views of Congress

 
 
Chapter 2: Evolution of the Modern Congress
Antecedents of Congress

 
Congress in the Constitution

 
Institutional Evolution

 
Evolution of the Legislator’s Job

 
Conclusion

 
 
Part II: A Congress of Ambassadors
 
Chapter 3: Going For It: Recruitment and Candidacy
Formal Rules of the Game

 
Districting in the House

 
Becoming a Candidate

 
Nominating Politics

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 4: Making It: The Electoral Game
Campaign Strategies

 
Campaign Resources

 
Campaign Techniques

 
Who Votes?

 
How Voters Decide

 
Election Outcomes

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 5: Being There: Hill Styles and Home Styles
Hill Styles

 
Looking Homeward

 
Office of the Member Inc

 
Members and the Media

 
Conclusion

 
 
Part III: A Deliberative Assembly of One Nation
 
Chapter 6: Leaders and Parties in Congress
Leaders of the House

 
Leaders of the Senate

 
Selection of Leaders

 
Leadership Activities

 
Party Caucuses, Committees, and Informal Groups

 
Party Continuity and Change

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 7: Committees: Workshops of Congress
The Purposes of Committees

 
Evolution of the Committee System

 
Types of Committees

 
The Assignment Process

 
Committee Leadership

 
Policy Making in Committee

 
Committee Staff

 
Committee Reform and Change

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 8: Congressional Rules and Procedures
Introduction of Bills

 
Scheduling in the House

 
House Floor Procedures

 
Scheduling in the Senate

 
Senate Floor Procedures

 
Resolving House–Senate Differences

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 9: Decision Making in Congress
The Power to Choose

 
Types of Decisions

 
Determinants of Voting

 
Legislative Bargaining

 
Conclusion

 
 
Part IV: Policy Making and Change in The Two Congresses
 
Chapter 10: Congress and the President
Constitutional Powers

 
Leadership

 
Sources of Legislative–Executive Conflict and Cooperation

 
The Balance of Power

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 11: Congress and the Bureaucracy
Congress Organizes the Executive Branch

 
Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 12: Congress and the Courts
The Federal Courts

 
The Supreme Court as Policy Maker

 
Advice and Consent for Judicial Nominees

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 13: Congress and Organized Interests
American Pluralism

 
Pressure Group Methods

 
Groups and the Electoral Connection

 
Groups, Lobbying, and Legislative Politics

 
Regulation of Lobbying

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 14: Congress, Budgets, and Domestic Policy Making
Policy-Making Processes

 
Types of Domestic Policies

 
Characteristics of Congressional Policy Making

 
Congressional Budgeting

 
The 1974 Budget Act

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 15: Congress and National Security Policies
Constitutional Powers

 
Who Speaks for Congress?

 
The National Interest: Types of National-Security Policies

 
Structural Policies

 
Strategic Policies

 
Crisis Policies: The War Powers

 
Conclusion

 
 
Part V: Conclusion
 
Chapter 16: The Two Congresses and the American People
Congress as the “Broken Branch”

 
Congress’s Vital Role

 
Twenty-First-Century Challenges

 
Conclusion

 
 
Appendix A: Party Control: Presidency, Senate, House, 1901–2023
 
Appendix B: Internships: Getting Experience on Capitol Hill
 
Notes
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Resources
Instructor Resources
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Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION

  • The new edition is comprehensively updated. New examples, references to contemporary members, and recent developments are brought to bear throughout the text. Multiple chapters have seen full overhauls, without increasing the overall length of the book.
  • Up-to-date information on the diversity of the new Congress in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and professional background is provided.
  • The revision covers the outcomes of the 2024 elections and subsequent changes in congressional organization and leadership. The book’s election coverage details regional shifts in party strength and voting behavior. Up-to-date information on the diversity of the new Congress in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and professional background is provided. The turmoil in House leadership across 2023 is covered, as are the politics and outcomes of the 2024 primary elections.
  • Examines the challenges party leaders face in balancing their conflicting responsibilities to the institution and to their party amidst a polarized context. Changes in internal procedure are examined, including increased use of the Senate’s cloture process and continued decline of conference committees. The new edition includes up-to-date information on party voting in Congress and support for the president’s position. Major recent policy battles are discussed, including around aid for Ukraine and Israel, appropriations, and the early politics of the 2025 Trump budget drive. The chapters on rules and procedures (#8) and national security (#15) were significantly revised for improved accessibility of presentation.
  • Covers important recent developments in interbranch relations. President Trump’s assertions of unilateral power are examined, including his challenges to Congress’s power of the purse and his uses of tariff-setting authority. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. U.S. is covered, along with Biden’s historic reshaping of the federal bench. The concluding chapter reflects on the attack on the Capitol of January 6, 2021 and what it reveals about Americans’ attitudes toward the institution.

KEY FEATURES

  • Comprehensive coverage of Congress and the legislative process provides students with an insightful look at the tension between Congress as a lawmaking institution and as a collection of re-election-minded politicians.         
  • A judicious balance of great scholarship and currency provides readers with a contemporary look at the realities of the legislative institution and process.         
  • Lively case material, along with relevant data, charts, maps, and photos, brings concepts to life.

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