US Congress
CMC Government 101 Spring 2024
Mon, Wed 11 AM- 12:15 PM Pacific
Roberts North 104
J.J. Pitney
Office: Kravis 232
Student Hours: Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu 1:30-2:30 pm
and by appointment
General
Woodrow Wilson wrote: "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."
In this course, we shall undertake such analysis. We shall ask how lawmakers behave at home, on Capitol Hill, and on the national stage. 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 Politico or Axios.
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:
- To post questions or comments about the readings before we discuss them in class;
- To follow up on class discussions with additional comments or questions.
- To post relevant news items or videos.
Grades
The following will make up your course grade:
- Two three-page papers: 15% each
- One five-page paper: 25%
- Simulation and writeup: 30%
- Participation, blog: 15%
Details
- The papers will develop your research and writing skills. In grading, I will take account of the quality of your writing, applying the principles of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. If you object, do not take this course, or anything else that I teach.
- The simulation will require you to study your part and spend several sessions in character.
- Participation includes your activity in class and online. I will call on students at random, and if you often miss sessions or fail to prepare, your grade will suffer. In addition, you may volunteer comments and questions. This experience will hone your ability to think on your feet. By Thursday of every week, moreover, you will also email me brief (250 words max) reflections on the readings and class discussions.
- In addition to the required readings (below), I may also give you handouts, emails, and web links covering current events and basic factual information.
- Check due dates for coursework. Do not plan on extensions.
- As a courtesy to your fellow students, please arrive on time, and refrain from eating in class.
- Except as a documented disability accommodation, please do not use electronic devices (tablets, laptops, smartphones) in class. Take notes the old-fashioned way, by hand, on paper. Why? Research suggests that it works better.
- Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are not victimless offenses, because they hurt fellow students. Please study our Statement of Academic Integrity, which reads in part: "The faculty of Claremont McKenna College is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity. Each faculty member has the responsibility to report cases of academic dishonesty to the Academic Standards Committee."
- This class welcomes viewpoint diversity. See: https://heterodoxacademy.org/library/advice-on-syllabus-language/
- Your experience in this class is important to me, and I have a particular interest in disability. If you have set up accommodations with Accessibility Services at CMC, please tell me about your approved accommodations so we can discuss your needs in this course. You can start by forwarding me your accommodation letter. If you have not yet established accommodations but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability please email accessibilityservices@cmc.edu to ask questions or begin the process. General information and accommodations request information are at the CMC Accessibility Services website.
Required Books [Make sure that you get the correct edition of the Davidson book.]
- Roger Davidson, et al., Congress and Its Members, 19th ed. (Washington: CQ Press, 2024).
- Jill Lawrence, The Art of the Political Deal (independently published, 2017).
The schedule is subject to change, with advance notice.
Jan 17: Two Political Branches, Two Chambers, Two Congresses, Two Parties
"It's hard to overstate the extent to which Democrats and Republicans inhabit different worlds in Congress. Our parties meet separately and organize separately, from the broad division of House members into a Republican Conference and a Democratic Caucus to the structure of every committee, most staff positions, and even social clubs -- the Capitol Hill Club for Republicans, the National Democratic Club for Democrats." -- Liz Cheney
What are the major functions of Congress? What are the dualities of Congress?
Jan 22, 24: Congressional History and 1/6/2021
"All you've got to know is this: right now the government of the United States is sitting on top of the Washington Monument, right on the very point, tipping right and left and ready to fall off and break up on the pavement." -- Edmond O'Brien, in Seven Days in May
How does today's Congress compare with that of the past? Have lawmakers gotten better or worse? What happened on January 6, 2021?
- Davidson, ch. 1-2
- Excerpts from Joanne B. Freeman (PO `84), The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018). ON SAKAI.
THREE-PAGE PAPER ASSIGNED BY JAN 22:
DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY FEB 2.
Jan 29, 31: Congressional Elections, Hill Style, Home Style and US Style
"In a strategy memo she wrote in 2021, [Rep. Nancy] Mace described herself as “THE freshman thought leader on federal issues,” according to a copy obtained by The Daily Beast. She even gave herself a brand name: “NATIONAL NANCY.” -- Jake Lahut
How do congressional candidates emerge onto the scene? What accounts for the party balance in the House and Senate? How do incumbents hold their seats? How do members present themselves to colleagues, constituents, and the national public"
Feb 5, 7: Parties and Leadership
“Joe (Biden) told me of one run-in he’d had on the Senate floor after the Republican leader blocked a bill Joe was sponsoring. When Joe tried to explain the bill’s merits, McConnell raised his hand like a traffic cop and said, `You must be under the mistaken impression that I care.’” -- Barack Obama
How do leaders and followers influence each other on Capitol Hill?
- Davidson, ch. 6.
- John Boehner, On the House (New York: St. Martin's, 2021). EXCERPT ON SAKAI
. FIVE-PAGE PAPER ASSIGNED BY FEB 12,
DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY MAR 1.
Feb 12, 14: Process
"Prior to this Congress it was unheard of that majority party members would buck their own leadership on procedural rules recommended by their own leadership-controlled Rules Committee, let alone against their party’s candidate for Speaker. Those norms are now out the window — the victims of their own majority-party dissenters." -- Don Wolfensberger
Who writes the bills, and how? What is the role of congressional committees?
Feb 19, 21: Process, Interest Groups, and Decision Making
"If procuring votes with offers of employment is what you intend, I’ll fetch a friend from Albany who can supply the skulking men gifted at this kind of shady work. Spare me the indignity of actually speaking to Democrats. Spare you the exposure and liability." -- William Seward (David Strathairn) in Lincoln
How do members decide how to vote? What is the relative influence of leadership, constituency, and ideology? How the "outside game" of media politics complement the "inside game" of legislative maneuvering?
Feb 26, Feb 28: The Art of the Political Deal
How do lawmakers engage in deliberation and bargaining?
Mar 4, 6: Congress and the Executive I
"Politics 101: You can't get exactly what you want in divided government. Also: Not everyone wants exactly what you want. Not even close. It's a big country."
How do the executive and legislative branches check each other? Do they intrude on each other's legitimate authority?
Mar 11, 13: Spring Break
"I saw you with your sword earlier, You're petty handy with that thing. Have you ever heard of LARPing?" –LARPer in Hawkeye
The simulation will take place both during class time (live) and in the evening (via Zoom). Participants will decide on evening times.
SIMULATION WRITEUP DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX
BY FRIDAY, APRIL 5.
Apr 1, 3: Congress and the Executive II
"[Katie Porter] started out by asking [Postmaster Genral Louis} DeJoy what the price of a first-class stamp is. DeJoy responded, correctly, that the cost is 55 cents. But Porter kept going. `What about to mail a postcard?' she asked. `I don’t know, ma’am,' DeJoy replied. He also missed a question on greeting cards. `I’ll submit that I know very little about postage stamps,' DeJoy said."
How does Congress try to control the bureaucracy? How do the branches battle for control of information?
Apr 8, 10: Impeachment and the Courts
Reporter: 'What is your response to Republicans opening an impeachment inquiry into you?'
Biden: *smiles* "Lots of luck."
How does the changing role of impeachment affect relationships between the branches? How does Congress try to influence the composition of the judiciary?
Apr 15, 17: Budgets and Domestic Policy
Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-04) announced the introduction of H.R. 263, the Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy (STOVE) Act. Recently, federal regulators have openly expressed their desire to ban gas stoves with a commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stating, “any option is on the table.” The STOVE Act preempts this bureaucratic overreach by prohibiting federal agencies from moving to ban gas stoves and similar gas-powered appliances.
What is domestic policy? How does Congress handle issues such as employment and health care?
- Davidson, ch. 14.
- Readings on current domestic issues, TBA.
THREE-PAGE PAPER ASSIGNED BY APR 15,
DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY MAY 1
Apr 22, 24: National Security and the Two Congresses
"U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced bipartisan legislation to ban TikTok from operating in the United States [:] The Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act)."
Can Congress effectively check the executive branch in wartime? Do lawmakers have the expertise and information to make decisions about national and homeland security?
- Davidson, ch. 15
- Readings on current foreign policy issues, TBA.
April 28, May 1: Reconsiderations
How are the two Congresses faring in 2024?
