The American Congress

Steven S. Smith is a Professor of Political Science, the Kate M. Gregg Distinguished Professor of Social Science, and Director of the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University, St Louis. He has chaired the Legislative Studies Section of the American Political Science Association and has served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. Jason M. Roberts is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He co-edited the book Why Not Parties? Party Effects in the US Senate (2009). His articles have been published in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. Ryan J. Vander Wielen is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Temple University, Philadelphia. His articles have appeared in Political Analysis, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and Public Choice.

• 1. The troubled Congress; 2. Representation and lawmaking in Congress: the constitutional and historical context; 3. Congressional elections; 4. Members, goals, resources, and strategies; 5. Parties and leaders; 6. The standing committees; 7. The rules of the legislative game; 8. The floor and voting; 9. Congress and the president; 10. Congress and the courts; 11. Congress, lobbyists, and interest groups; 12. Congress and budget politics.