Congress

POLI-320: Section 01

Dr. David Hill	Spring 2012

Office: Elizabeth Hall, Room 315B	Elizabeth Hall, Room 322

Office Hours:	TR 2:30pm-3:45pm

MWF 1:00pm-3:00pm

By appointment also

Phone: 822-7579

email: dhill@stetson.edu

Course Description

In this course we will take an in-depth look at the history, structure, and processes of the United States Congress. In doing so, we will examine the congressional committee system, congressional leadership, the role of parties, and the factors influencing the decision making of congressional members (MCs). We will focus closely on congressional elections because examining the electoral motivations of MCs is crucial to understanding their behavior in Congress. We will also explore the role of Congress in the policymaking process by examining the interaction between Congress and the executive branch, judicial branch and interest groups.

The course also serves as a preparation for the 41st Annual Floyd M. Riddick U.S. Model Senate, hosted here at Stetson, March 15-17. The Model U.S. Senate is a unique weekend where students from Stetson University and several other universities from Florida and other states assume the role of a sitting U.S. Senator and participate in a three-day session of the Senate. Participants will attend committee meetings and hearings, press for the passage of their assigned bill, caucus in their respective parties, debate and vote on the Senate floor. This experience allows students to take an active role in the American legislative process, instead of the traditional curriculum consisting of textbooks.

Course Objectives

1. To expose students to the important debates in the study of Congress.

2. To facilitate the students’ ability to research and analyze a piece of legislation from introduction to the final outcome (passage or defeat).

3. To facilitate students’ ability to conduct extensive research on Congress and to use that research to craft a research paper related to the course material.

4. To prepare students for participation in the 38th Annual Floyd M. Riddick U.S. Model Senate.

Required Readings

Davidson, Roger H. and Walter J. Oleszak. 2007. Congress and Its Members.

Washington D.C.: CQ Press

Dodd, Lawrence C. and Bruce I. Oppenheimer. 2009. Congress Reconsidered.

Washington D.C.: CQ Press.

Theriault, Sean, M. 2008. Party Polarization in Congress. New York: Cambridge University	Press.

Several required readings will be placed on the Blackboard course website. Students are responsible for completing these readings, as they will be the focus of class discussions and exam material. All written assignments are to be submitted through Blackboard. Hard copies will not be accepted.

Course Requirements and Grades

Midterm Exam	25%

Case Study	30%

Final Exam	30%

Class Participation	10%

Model Senate	05%

Examinations

The midterm examination is tentatively scheduled for Thursday March 1stduring regular class hours. The final examination is scheduled for Saturday, May 5th from 2:00-4:00pm. Each exam will have two components. The first will be a series of short essays. The second component of the exam will be a long essay. The final exam will be cumulative, although its main emphasis will be on the second half of the course.

Case Study

The case study will be comprised of three separate papers (each comprises 10% of your final grade) on a piece of legislation. These papers will be based on a bill of your choice. In order to complete this case study you need to make two choices. First you need to pick a member of the House of Representatives or Senate from the 110th, 111th, or 112th Congresses and second, choose a piece of legislation introduced by this member into either the House or Senate. Please take care to choose a bill that had as much activity as possible, because the overall goal of the three part case study is a comprehensive legislative history of a piece of legislation. The bill should have been through a vote of final passage (I am willing to allow bills that were killed by a filibuster) in both Houses. You can select your bill by visiting http://thomas.loc.gov. The identity of your selected member of Congress and your bill should be submitted to me via blackboard no later Thursday, January 26th.

Paper 1

This paper is comprised of three parts. The first is an in-depth examination of your bill, including statistics explaining the need for the legislation, the cost of the legislation, and the rationale for the legislation in terms of meeting need.

In the second part of the paper, you should discuss the electoral constituency, and party based factors for the member’s introduction of the bill. Will the legislation brings jobs or needed federal money to his or her district/state? Will the member’s constituents support the bill? Is the legislation supported by the member’s party? If the legislation is opposed by a sizeable proportion of the district/state or his and/or her party, please take care to note why the member introduced it.

The third part of the paper should address the political strategy for winning passage of the bill, including names of allies and opponents in the Congress and in the country, and the committees which would consider the bill.

The paper should be 8-10 pages (double spaced) with appropriate documentation and a one page speech (in addition to the page requirements). The paper should include a bibliography and also a cover page with the title of the paper, the student’s name, the course title and number (neither the bibliography nor the title page are included in the page requirements). Due Tuesday, February 23rd

Paper 2

This paper will focus on the legislative history of the bill. To this end, you will explore

the various steps in the bill’s journey through Congress. You will need to identify and discuss any changes to the bill and, as much as possible, identify who the key congressional players involved in the process. I will provide further information on this paper later in the semester.

The paper should be 8-10 pages with appropriate documentation. The paper should include a bibliography and also a cover page with the title of the paper, the student’s name, the course title and number (neither the bibliography nor the title page are included in the page requirements). Due Tuesday, March 29th.

Paper 3

The final paper in the case study will explore the role of interest groups in the formulation of your bill. In this paper you will need to identify what groups were involved in the process and how they tried to influence the process. Did citizens have an influence on the outcome? What effect does this bill (or the issue related to the bill) have on elections? In your final analysis (taking the entire case study into account) will the public interest be served by the passage or defeat of this piece of legislation? I will provide further information on this paper later in the semester.

The paper should be 8-10 pages (double spaced) with appropriate documentation. The paper should include a bibliography and also a cover page with the title of the paper, the student’s name, the course title and number (neither the bibliography nor the title page are included in the page requirements). Due Tuesday, April 26th.

The research for these papers will, in large part, be based on legitimate periodical sources, such as Congressional Quarterly, Washington Post, New York Times, National Journal, Wall Street Journal as well as the daily Congressional Record. You should also take care to include academic books and journal articles that offer theoretical perspective for understanding the process of this legislation. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source.

Late papers will be penalized with a 1 letter grade reduction for each day the paper is submitted following the due date.

Class Participation

Ten percent of your final grade will be classroom participation. Attendance is required and will comprise a sizable portion of your class participation score. Absences from class and examinations will be excused only if the student provides verifiable documentation of accident, illness, or a university or legal obligation. I reserve the right to give a “reading quiz” at any point during the semester. The grades from these quizzes will be calculated as part of your participation score. Undocumented absences from examinations or quizzes will result in a score of zero.

Model Senate Participation

Participation in the Floyd M. Riddick Model United States Senate is the final portion of your grade. Your grade will be based on your preparation for the event, attendance at the event, and your actual participation over the course of the weekend. Please visit the registration website for the class and register as soon as possible after January 25th.

Grading Scale

A 93-100	C 73-76

A- 90-92	C- 70-72

B+ 87-89	D+ 67-69

B 83-86	D 63-66

B-	80-82	D- 60-62

C+ 77-79	F 59 and below

I approach the classroom as an exchange of ideas between scholars. Implicit in this statement is the idea that all individuals (including myself) will come to class prepared to discuss the reading material for the day. An exchange of ideas cannot take place with only one person participating. In order to facilitate classroom discussion I will frequently call on students to either answer a question or to provide their thoughts concerning the readings for the day. The best way to succeed in this course is to do the assigned readings, take notes if possible, and come to class with the intention of discussing the material you have read.

Incompletes

No student will be given an incomplete in the course without a verifiable accident, illness, or severe family emergency. If at all possible, these situations must be discussed with the professor prior to the end of the semester, in order for an incomplete to given.

Extra Credit

There will be no extra credit awarded to any student for any reason. Please don’t ask.

Academic Integrity

As members of an academic community, we are jointly responsible for maintaining intellectual and academic honesty. I expect that all work submitted for this course is your own, that contributions from others are clearly acknowledged, and that unauthorized assistance on exams or papers has been neither given nor received. Stetson’s honor pledge applies to all work done in this course. To indicate your commitment to academic integrity, I ask that you write the word “PLEDGED” with your initials or signature on each classroom test and quiz as well as major essays.

As a member of Stetson University, I agree to uphold the highest standards of integrity in my academic work. I promise that I will neither give nor receive unauthorized aid of any kind on my tests, papers, and assignments. When using the ideas, thoughts, or words of another in my work, I will always provide clear acknowledgement of the individuals and sources on which I am relying. I will avoid using fraudulent, falsified, or fabricated evidence and/or material. I will refrain from resubmitting without authorization work for one class that was obtained from work previously submitted for academic credit in another class. I will not destroy, steal, or make inaccessible any academic resource material. By my actions and my example, I will strive to promote the ideals of honesty, responsibility, trust, fairness, and respect that are at the heart of Stetson's Honor System.

Special Needs

If you anticipate barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, and if you determine that disability-related accommodations are necessary, please register with the Academic Resources Center (822-7127; www.stetson.edu/arc). You and the ARC staff can plan how best to coordinate your accommodations. You may notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations, but are not required to do so.

Technology

The use of cell phones for any purpose is prohibited in class. Please put your phone away prior to the start of class. If you are seen using your phone (texting, email, internet, etc.) you will be asked to leave the classroom for the remainder of the class. If you would like to use a laptop to take notes you may certainly do that. I ask that if you do choose to use a laptop that you sit in the front row. If you are seen using your laptop for anything other than classroom purposes you will be asked to leave the classroom for the remainder of class and prohibited from bringing your computer to class for the remainder of the semester.

Please take advantage of my office hours. They are strictly for the purpose of helping you understand the material presented in the class. If you can’t meet me during office hours I will be glad to set up an appointment so we can meet at a time when both of our schedules allow it. You can also contact me anytime through e-mail to ask a question or to set up an appointment if you have a problem meeting during my scheduled hours.

Writing Resource

For help with writing please see the excellent writing page created by Professor Gary Maris. The address for the page is http://www.stetson.edu/~gmaris/Write.htm. At this site you can find information on grammar, punctuation, sources, documentation, and ideas on how to construct a research paper.

Course Outline

Items marked with an asterisk are on the course website

I. Introduction (January 19-24)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 1

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 3 (Mann and Ornstein)

II. Evolution of Congress (January 26-31)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 2

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 1 (Sinclair)

Polsby*

III. The Electoral Connection (February 2-February 9)

Mayhew*

Fenno*

Fiorina*

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapters 3 and 5

IV. Candidates, Voters and Money (February 14-16)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 4

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 4 (Erikson and Wright)

IV. Rules and Procedures (February 21-February 23)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapters 8

VIII. Committees (Feburary 28-March 13)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 7

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 10 (Aldrich and Rhode)

Fenno*

Midterm Thursday, March 1nd

VII. Parties in Congress (March 20-22)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 6

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 7 (Smith and Gamm)

IX. Decisionmaking (March 27)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 9

X Leadership (March 29-April 3)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 6

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 8 (Schickler and Pearson)

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 9 (Evans and Grandy)

VI. Polarization in Congress	Theriault, All (April 5-12)

XI. Congress and the Executive Branch (April 17-19)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapters 10 and 11

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 14 (Howell and Griner)

XII. Congress and The Judicial Branch (April 24-26)

Davidson and Oleszek Chapter 12

Dodd and Oppenheimer, Chapter 11 (Binder and Maltzman)

XIII. Congress and Interest Groups (April 31-May2)

Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 13