Pressure Politics: Strategies to Enlist Government Support
Interest groups use a number of approaches to solicit support from government officials. They hire professional lobbyists to provide information to and fundraising support for members of Congress. The Institute for Policy Studies uses films, books, ...
The First Branch: House of Representatives--A Majority-Rule Chamber, The
The House of Representatives is a majority rule chamber. With a reasonably cohesive majority, the leadership can control the agenda and everything that happens. Many observers of the Washington scene rate the Speaker of the House second only in powe...
The First Branch: How Does It Feel to Be a New Member of Congress?
Mickey Edwards, Jim McDermott, and Loretta Sanchez tell what it is like to walk into the House chambers for the first time as a newly elected members of Congress. Congress, like most national legislatures, has been dominated by men and moneyed inter...
The First Branch: Challenges of Freshmen Congressmen
The challenges of the first few months in Congress can be daunting. It helps to have a mentor who can explain the hierarchy and the bewildering array of procedures and protocol. It is also important to fill staff positions with people who are experi...
Struggle for Equality, The: Impact of Affirmative Action, The
Very few minority students would have been admitted to college or into professional programs without the assistance of affirmative action. In recent years, however, Supreme Court rulings "have been hard" on such programs, critics expressing concern ...
Government by Committee: Journey of a Bill
An average of 10,000 bills are introduced and referred to committee over the course of a two-year legislative term. Bills that do not easily fit within the scope of a single committee are referred to several committees or bypass this step altogether...