Congress and Its Members

Incorporating the crucial updates and new research you expect, the thirteenth edition of Congress and Its Members remains a trusted resource for introducing students to the legislative branch. As thousands of undergraduates have learned, focusing on Congress as not only a legislative body, but also as a group of reelection-minded politicians, is an extraordinarily effective way to understand the institution and the law-making process.

In addition to featuring new examples and cases drawn from recent congressional politics-including the battles over health care reform, financial regulations, economic stimulus, fiscal management, and tax policy-the authors also integrate new scholarship on representation, congressional elections, lobbying influence, and the relationship between Congress and the Court.

The thirteenth edition also features analysis of:

the 2010 congressional campaigns and elections;

party and leadership changes for the 112th Congress;

executive-legislative relations under President Obama;

new procedures in the House and Senate;

budgeting in an era of huge deficits;

the heightened importance of lobbyists in legislative policymaking;

public attitudes about Congress as dysfunctional, even corrupt; and

the courts and their impact on the interpretation of congressional statutes, the scope of congressional power, and the reach of statutory campaign finance regulations.