Political Science 307, Legislative Process
Fall 2003
Professor
Office: Zulauf 403
Hours: M
INTRODUCTION
This course focuses on the U.S. Congress and on the
larger question of how our national legislature contributes to the making of
American public policy. Several aspects
of Congress will be examined including: (1) the historical origins and evolution
of Congress; (2) Congressional elections; (3) the individual members of
Congress who must regularly win elections “back home” in their states and
districts if they wish to retain their jobs; (4) rules and procedures used in
the legislative process; (5) presidential-congressional relations.
REQUIRED TEXTS
The following books are required and should be available
for purchase at the campus book stores:
Burdette
Loomis, The Contemporary Congress (4th ed.).
James
Young, The
David
Price, The Congressional Experience (2nd
ed).
Barbara
Sinclair, Unorthodox Lawmaking (2nd
ed).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GROUND RULES
Grades. Grades will be determined by your performance
on two exams (a midterm and a final) and a term paper. The weights assigned to each element are as
follows:
Midterm 37.5%
Final Exam 37.5
Term
Paper 25.0
100%
The exams will include some multiple choice items but
will emphasize essay questions.
The term paper will focus on a bill (a legislative
proposal) considered by the U.S. Congress during the 107th Congress
(2001-2002). With the aid of various
sources available in Founders Library and on the Internet, the paper should
examine the background of the legislation, specify what public and private
agencies and individuals worked for and against it, and analyze what happened
to the legislation as it worked its way through the legislative process. Your principal goal is not to evaluate the
bill on its merits but rather to use the bill as a device for analyzing the
mechanics and politics of the legislative process. Additional guidelines for the paper will be
provided in class. The paper should be
approximately 8-10 pages long (typed and double-spaced) and is due on Nov.
17. Late papers will be penalized at
the rate of 1/3 of a letter grade per day.
University rules concerning plagiarism and other forms of cheating will be strictly enforced. Students have primary responsibility for familiarizing themselves with university rules. Information found on the Internet, by the way, is no different from information drawn from newspapers, magazines and other traditional research sources. If you use it you must provide a proper citation for it in your paper.
Attendance
is not formally computed into your grade but I expect you to come to class
regularly, to be on time when at all possible, and to do the assigned readings
on schedule. To encourage you in this
regard I reserve the right to increase a final course grade by up to one-third
of a letter as a reward for good class participation. Of course, good class participation means
more than simply coming to class. It
means coming to class and participating, in an informed way, in class
discussions. To help me learn your names
I will be setting up a seating chart about one week from today, and from then
on will keep a daily record of attendance.
Extra Credit. Sorry, but none is allowed. No exceptions.
Makeup Exams
and grades of incomplete will be provided only for extraordinary reasons
(such as serious illness) and documentary evidence is required. Makeup exams may consist solely of essay
questions. Exams missed without a valid excuse will count as a
zero in the computation of final grades.
A. Introduction and Overview (August 25)
Read:
B. Constitutional Framework (August 27)
Read:
Federalist
Papers 10, 47, 48, 51 http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm
A. The Early Congress and the
1.
Read: Young,
Prologue and
2.
Early Government: Isolated,
Disjointed, Inactive (September
8)
Read: Young,
Ch. 2-4.
3.
The Early Congress: unstable,
informal, disorderly, parochial (September 10)
Read:
4.
Early Congressional-Presidential Relations (September 15)
Read:
B. Subsequent Developments (September 17)
1. The Institutionalization of Congress
2. The Changing Environment of Congress
Read:
Price, pp. 205-211.
III. CONGRESSIONAL
ELECTIONS: ROOTS OF THE CENTRIFUGAL
CONGRESS
A. Congressional Districts and Representatives (September
22)
1. The different meanings of “constituency”
2. Advantages held by incumbents
Read:
B. Campaign Finance, Organization and Strategy (September
24, 29)
Read:
C. National Politics and Congressional Elections (October 1)
Read: Loomis, Ch. 4 (remaining portion of chapter)
and
A. Adjusting to the Workplace: Organizing staff
and resources (October
6)
Read:
B. Congressional Committees (October 8)
Read:
C. Committees and the Legislative Process (October 15,
20)
Read:
D. Party Leadership and Organization in Congress (October 22,
27)
Read:
E. Presidential-Congressional Relations (October 29, November 3)
Read:
F. The
Read:
A. The New Legislative Process I (November 12, 17)
1. Traditional vs. unorthodox lawmaking
2. Following legislation through the House,
Senate and Conference
Read: Sinclair, Ch. 1-4.
B. The New Legislative Process II (November 19)
1. Omnibus and budget legislation
2. Why and how the process has changed
Read: Sinclair, Ch. 5-6.
C. Three Examples of Unorthodox Lawmaking (November
24, December 1)
1. National Service Legislation
2. Regulatory Overhaul
3. The Omnibus Drug Bill
Read: Sinclair, Ch. 7-9.
D. Lawmaking and The Budget Process (December 3)
1.
2. The Republican Revolution and the Budget
Process
Read: Sinclair, Ch. 10-11.