Since its first edition, Congress Reconsidered was designed to make available the best contemporary work from leading congressional scholars in a form that is both challenging and accessible to undergraduates. For almost four decades, Dodd and Oppenheimer have delivered on this goal. With their tenth edition, this tradition continues, but with the benefit of contributing authors now able to focus on how various aspects of Congress have changed over time. Gary Jacobson not only analyzes congressional elections in the present day, but looks at changes that have occurred in elections since the 1970s. James Thurber places today’s struggles over the budget in the context of budget politics since the passage of the Budget and Impoundment Control Act. John Aldrich, Brittany Perry, and David Rohde trace the evolution of the House’s most influential committees, while Kathryn Pearson examines the growth (in number and influence) of women members of Congress. Simply put, this volume remains on the cutting edge with key insights into the workings of Congress.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

• 11 new essays with all returning contributions thoroughly revised to account for new events, developments, and data.

Features include:

• rich post-election analysis—a hallmark of the volume—from Dodd and Oppenheimer, just weeks after election day;
• brief headnotes that act as contextual abstracts for each essay, pointing students to a piece’s importance and relevance; and
• a comprehensive Suggested Readings list—a go-to bibliographic reference on Congress for students.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

• 11 new essays with all returning contributions thoroughly revised to account for new events, developments, and data.

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Tables and Figures
Contributors
Preface

Part I Patterns and Dynamics of Congressional Change
     1. The New World of U.S. Senators
             Barbara Sinclair
     2. The House in a Time of Crisis: Economic Turmoil and Partisan Upheaval
             Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer
     3. Congresswomen’s Pursuit of Power in a Partisan Environment
             Kathryn Pearson

Part II Elections and Constituencies
     4. Voters, Candidates, and Issues in Congressional Elections
             Robert S. Erikson and Gerald C. Wright
     5. Partisanship, Money, and Competition: Elections and the Transformation of Congress since the 1970s
             Gary C. Jacobson
     6. Parties, Members, and Campaign Contributions in the House of Representatives
             William Bernhard and Tracy Sulkin

Part III Parties and Committees
     7. The Dynamics of Party Government in Congress
             Steven S. Smith and Gerald Gamm
     8. Richard Fenno’s Theory of Congressional Committees and the Partisan Polarization of the House
             John H. Aldrich, Brittany N. Perry, and David W. Rohde 
     9. Filibustering and Parties in the Modern Senate
             Gregory Koger
     10. Legislative Effectiveness and Representation
             Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman

Part IV Congress, the President, and Public Policy
     11. Advice and Consent: The Politics of Confirming Federal Judges
             Sarah A. Binder and Forrest Maltzman
     12. Energy Legislation from the OPEC Embargo to Obama’s Sidestep of Congress
     13. The Dynamics and Dysfunction of the Congressional Budget Process: From Inception to Deadlock
             James Thurber
     14. Tax Policy Making and Fiscal Responsibility:  Is Congress Capable of Doing Its Job?
             Catherine E. Rudder
     15. Congressional Leadership of War Opinion? Backlash Effects and the Polarization of Public Support for  War
             Douglas L. Kriner and William G. Howell

Part V Congress and Political Change
     16. The Modern Congress
             Joseph Cooper
     17. Party Polarization and Policy Productivity in Congress: From Harding to Obama
             Lawrence C. Dodd and Scot Schraufnagel
     18. Congress and the Emerging Order: Assessing the 2012 Elections
             Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer

Suggested Readings
Index

Lawrence C. Dodd holds the Manning J. Dauer Eminent Scholar Chair in Political Science at the University of Florida. His books include New Perspectives on American Politics (1994), Congress and Policy Change (1986), and Congress and the Administrative State (1979). He had been a University Fellow (1993-1994), Hoover National Fellow (1984-1985), and Congressional Fellow (1974-1975) and was the recipient of the 1997-1998 Superior Faculty Service Award for his leadership and program-building efforts at the University of Florida.

Bruce I. Oppenheimer is professor of political science at Vandebilt University. He received his Ph.D. 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.