As students and scholars have come to expect from this classic reader, Dodd and Oppenheimer’s winning team of distinguished scholars delivers the most up-to-date, accessible, and cutting-edge research on the development of the modern Congress. Over the course of seven editions, this innovative volume was the first to detail and assess the reforms of the 1970s, to trace the rise of a new congressional oligarchy in the 1980s, to recognize the Democrats’ tenuous hold on congressional power in the early 1990s, and to chart the historic significance and impact of the new Republican Congress of the past decade. Ever on the forefront of the field, the eighth edition assesses how Congress is responding to the challenges of a new century, from campaign finance reform, heightened partisanship, and renewed deficit spending to international terrorism and the expanding political role of ethnic and racial minorities.

In addition to Dodd and Oppenheimer’s timely and cogent assessment of the 2004 elections, contributions—thirteen new to this edition and five completely revised—reflect original scholarship, place new developments within broader historical perspective, and consider the future direction of Congress.

Prologue: Perspectives on the 2004 Congressional Elections, Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer

PART I: PATTERNS AND DYNAMICS OF CONGRESSIONAL CHANGE

1. The New World of U.S. Senators, Barbara Sinclair
2. A Decade of Republican Control: The House of Representatives, 1995-2005, Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer
3. What the American Public Wants Congress to Be, John R. Hibbing and Christopher W. Larimer

PART II: ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUENCIES

4. Voters, Candidates, and Issues in Congressional Elections, Robert S. Erikson and Gerald C. Wright
5. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and Congressional Elections, Paul S. Herrnson
6. Deep Red and Blue Congressional Districts: The Causes and Consequences of Declining Party Competitiveness, Bruce I. Oppenheimer
7. Keystone Reconsidered, Morris P. Fiorina

PART III: PARTIES AND COMMITTEES

8. The Dynamics of Party Government in Congress, Steven S. Smith and Gerald Gamm
9. The House Leadership in an Era of Partisan Warfare, Eric Schickler and Kathryn Pearson
10. Obstruction and Leadership in the U.S. Senate, C. Lawrence Evans and Daniel Lipinski
11. Congressional Committees in a Partisan Era, John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde
12. The (Dis)Integration of the House Appropriations Committee: Revisiting The Power of the Purse in a Partisan Era, Joshua B. Gordon

PART IV: CONGRESS AND PUBLIC POLICY

13. Congress and the Politics of Judicial Appointments, Sarah A. Binder and Forrest Maltzman
14. The Politics of Taxing and Spending In Congress: Ideas, Strategy, and Policy, Catherine E. Rudder
15. Congress and Policymaking in an Age of Terrorism, Donald R. Wolfensberger

PART V: CONGRESS AND POLITICAL CHANGE

16. From Congressional to Presidential Preeminence: Power and Politics in Late Nineteenth-Century America and Today Joseph Cooper
17. African Americans and the New Politics of Inclusion: A Representational Dilemma? Kerry L. Haynie
18. Re-Envisioning Congress: Theoretical Perspectives on Congressional Change-2004, Lawrence C. Dodd

Suggested Readings
Index of Scholars
Subject Index

“At a time when Congress is constantly changing, one thing is constant—Congress Reconsidered is the best source for scholars and students to learn about how the contemporary House and Senate are functioning. Since its first edition this book has been—and it remains— the gold standard for classroom anthologies.”

“This new edition of Congress Reconsidered distinguishes itself once again in a very crowded field of books on Congress. It is the only comprehensive volume that covers everything from elections to legislative organization to the making of public policy. It does this by presenting the most current academic research by some of the leading scholars of Congress in a clear and accessible manner.”

“Dodd and Oppenheimer’s use of high-quality readings by top-notch contributors is most impressive. I know I can depend on Congress Reconsidered to provide a comprehensive range of the best research on Congress.”

Lawrence C. Dodd holds the Manning J. Dauer Eminent Scholar Chair in Political Science at the University of Florida. His books include Learning Democracy (2005), New Perspectives on American Politics (1994), Congress and Policy Change (1986), Congress and the Administrative State (1979), and Coalitions in Parliamentary Government (1976). He has been a Woodrow Wilson Center Fellow (2003–2004), University Fellow (1993–1994), Hoover National Fellow (1984–1985), and Congressional Fellow (1974–1975). Dodd was selected as the University of Florida’s Teacher-Scholar of the Year in 2007, the university’s highest faculty honor.

Bruce I. Oppenheimer is professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin and has been a Congressional Fellow (1974– 1975) and Brookings Fellow in Governmental Studies (1970–1971). His book Sizing Up the Senate:The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation (1999), coauthored with Frances Lee, was awarded the D. B. Hardeman Prize. He is also editor of U.S. Senate Exceptionalism (2002).