We shall do a shorter simulation later in the semester, during regular class hours We must dispense with the State of the Union and witness testimony, but we will do committee markups and a floor session. If we are back to in-person classes, great. If not, we shall do it on Zoom. Stay in touch with one another, and do take advantage of Twitter spoof accounts (but be sure to follow Twitter guidelines).
Because it will be a much more limited exercise, and because people may have varying degrees of access to the Internet, the simulation will not count as a separately-graded assignment. Instead, it will be part of your class-participation grade.
Continue to do the emails on the readings. I also urge you to post material on the blog, especially in regard to your simulation roles, but also about any Congress-related topics. The blog will be important in holding us together.
As for a writing assignment, the following will replace the previously-planned simulation paper.
Choose one:
1. Write a detailed political profile of your simulation senator. What makes this person tick? What are this senator's major issues, and why does she or he have this focus? Is the focus a matter of ideology, constituency, life experience, pure chance, or something else?
2. Pick a specific issue that is likely to come up during the simulation. (Do not pick the same topic as your second paper.) What has the 116th Congress done -- or failed to do -- on this issue? Why? How will our twin crises -- coronavirus and economic turmoil -- affect congressional action on this issue?
- Essays should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than six pages long. I will not read past the sixth page.
- Cite your sources with endnotes in standard Turabian format. Endnote pages do not count against the page limit.
- Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you. Return essays (as Word documents, not pdfs) to the Sakai dropbox by 11:59 PM, Friday,April 17. I reserve the right to dock papers will one gradepoint for one day’s lateness, a full letter grade after that.
Revised schedule: after break, sessions will be on Zoom until further notice.
Mar 23, 25: TBA
Mar 30, Apr 2: Congress and the Executive
"Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request..." 26 U.S. Code § 6103
How do the branches battle over control of information? How does Congress try to influence the composition of the judiciary?
- Davidson, ch. 10-12
Apr 6, 8: Budgets and Domestic Policy
"This Act may be cited as the `Stop the Shutdowns Transferring Unnecessary Pain and Inflicting Damage In The coming Years Act.'" [aka, The "Stop STUPDITY Act"] -- Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)
What is domestic policy? How does Congress handle issues such as employment and health care?
- Davidson, ch. 14.
- Straus, ch. 5.
- Reading on Congress. the stimulus, and coronavirus, TBA.
"Politics are changing and you don't want to be the last one holding the dog collar when the oversight committee comes." -- "Dan" (Jason Clarke) to "Maya" (Jessica Chastain) in Zero Dark Thirty
Can Congress effectively check the executive branch in wartime? Do lawmakers have the expertise and information to make decisions about national and homeland security? What is political courage?
- Davidson, ch. 15-16
- Kennedy, ch. 1.
SIX-PAGE PAPER DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY APRIL 17
April 20, 22: IN-CLASS LEGISLATIVE SIMULATION
FOUR-PAGE PAPER ASSIGNED APR 22, DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY MAY 5
Apr 27, 29: Reviewing Congressional History I
"[B]etween 1830 and 1860, there were more than seventy violent incidents between congressmen in the House and Senate chambers or nearby streets and dueling grounds, most of them long forgotten...I found canings, duel negotiations, and duels; shoving and fistfights; brandished pistols and bowie knives; wild melees in the House; and street fights with fists and the occasional brick." -- Joanne Freeman, The Field of Blood.
How does today's Congress compare with that of the past? Have lawmakers gotten better or worse?
- Kennedy, ch. 2-7.
"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
How had divided government worked since the Second World War? Why has polarization waxed and waned?
- Kennedy ch. 8-11.
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