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The seniority system ordinarily rates no more than two or three pages in books devoted to Congress. There is likely to be a brief description and a weighing of the arguments, pro and con, followed generally by the conclusion that the system is a poor one; occasionally an author will defend it stoutly. Regardless of the conclusions, the analyses are rarely thorough. This article attempts to fill a gap in the literature on Congress by describing and analyzing various aspects of its seniority system.It is well to remember at the outset that very few human institutions ignore seniority entirely. Champ Clark, in his autobiography, noted that it is observed in all the affairs of life:No sane man would for one moment think of making a graduate from West Point a full general, or one from Annapolis an admiral, or one from any university or college chief of a great newspaper, magazine or business house. A priest or a preacher who has just taken orders is not immediately made a bishop, archbishop or cardinal. In every walk of life "men must tarry at Jericho till their beards are grown."

Even as governors across the country impose increasingly restrictive – and eminently necessary – measures to promote teleworking and other forms of social distancing to stem the coronavirus tide, and as lawmakers themselves face the news that they have tested positive for the virus or otherwise must self-isolate, too many members of Congress have remained puzzlingly reluctant to make social distancing possible in their own institution. There was even news on Sunday that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had been spotted at the Senate gym the same morning he found out he'd tested positive for the virus. As Democratic Representatives Eric Swalwell, Katie Porter, and Van Taylor urged in a letter to House leadership last week: "[W]e cannot stand on tradition if it puts lives – and our ability to be the voice of our constituents – at risk." At an absolute minimum, they argued, Congress must allow them to vote on bills remotely, without requiring all 435 Members to show up in person, breaching even the president's guidance about gatherings in groups. Yet it is not at all clear the relevant (modest) rule changes being proposed will appear in the stimulus legislation Congress is now racing to pass.

Essays contest notion of the absolute preeminence of judicial review in constitutional interpretation, analyzing the role of Congress as a constitutional interpreter and responsible constitutional agent.

This report details Colombia's recent developments, political situation, challenges, and issues for Congress

Information technologies have permeated society and political life. Congress also has been incorporating these new technologies as members have established their own Web sites and acquired e-mail addresses. Using a survey of congressional offices and a content analysis of congressional Web sites, we describe how Congress as an institution uses the Internet to disseminate information to the public and how individual members of Congress use the Internet and e-mail to interact with constituents. We conclude that congressional response to these technologies has been mixed and that, to the extent that members have embraced the new technologies, they have done so not to facilitate interactivity with constituents, but primarily as an extension of their strategies of advertising themselves to constituents.

This report discusses selected campaign finance policy issues that may receive attention during the 111th Congress such as the electronic filing of senate campaign finance reports, bundling, hybrid advertising, joint fundraising committees, 527 Organizations and more.

"What kind of job has America's routinely disparaged legislative body actually done? In [this book, the author gives] historical analysis of the U.S. Congress's performance from the late eighteenth century to today, exploring what its lasting imprint has been on American politics and society. Mayhew suggests that Congress has balanced the presidency in a surprising variety of ways, and in doing so, it has contributed to the legitimacy of a governing system faced by an often fractious public."--

"This book provides the first historical interpretation of the congressional response to the entire Cold War. Using a wide variety of sources, including several manuscript collections opened specifically for this study, the book challenges the popular and scholarly image of a weak Cold War Congress, in which the unbalanced relationship between the legislative and executive branches culminated in the escalation of the U.S. commitment in Vietnam, which in turn paved the way for a congressional resurgence best symbolized by the passage of the War Powers Act in 1973"--Jacket

Introduction. The apportionment for this decade has now been made by Congress, and a bill has been passed which will automatically provide for reapportionment in all subsequent decades. Under this law, the size of the House will remain 435, and the method of computation will remain the method of major fractions as used in 1911 unless Congress takes the initiative in making a change. It may, however, be a matter of interest to put on record a brief description of the principal "methods" which were under discussion in the recent congressional debates. No knowledge of mathematics is required in order to understand the purpose and result of each of these methods.The constitutional requirement. The constitutional requirement reads as follows: "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed; …. but each state shall have at least one representative." Hence, in a theoretically perfect apportionment, the ratio of representation in any state would be exactly equal to the ratio of representation in every other state. In practice, however, perfect equality cannot be secured, on account of fractions. Hence, in the practical problem of apportioning any given number of representatives among the several states, the only way in which the constitutional requirement can be met is by making the unavoidable inequalities between the states as small as possible.

Killing Congress: Assassinations, Attempted Assassinations, and other Violence Enacted on Members of the U.S. Congress analyzes all assassinations, attempted assassinations, and other violent acts carried out on members of Congress. Each chapter focuses on a particular incident, describing the events, the people involved, and the consequences of the violence.