Congress and Its Members discusses the evolution of Congress since 1787, political science homework help

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Students will answer all four of the following essays. This is an “open book” test and, in fact, references should be made to your course readings. (And remember: no sources outside of our course materials and absolutely no consultation or collaboration with anyone on your answers.) Essays should be well-written and free of typos and compositional errors. Students should show sophistication in their understanding and thoughtfulness in their answers. Students should expect to write about 2 typed (double-spaced) pages PER essay (so 8 pages total).

1. Congress and Its Members discusses the evolution of Congress since 1787. List and explain the key changes that have occurred over time, both institutional and individual. In other words, how has Congress as an institution changed but also how has the job of an individual member changed over time? How would you characterize these changes over time? Have these changes been desirable developments? Most importantly, is the Congress still consistent with what the Founders created? What would the Federalists and Anti-Federalists think of the modern Congress? Develop.

2. Finding quality candidates to run for Congress is a main goal of the political parties. Discuss the key features of a “quality” candidate and explain how these features help candidates win elections. One of the most critical features is incumbency (make sure to address both Congress and Its Members and also chapter ten in American Congress Reader on this). Explain the considerable advantages that incumbents have over challengers in running for a seat in Congress. However, make sure to differentiate between the House and Senate. There are differences. What might be done to reduce the influence of incumbency? (Think broadly here and consider things like campaign finance reform, term limits, or even redistricting reform.)

3. Your Congress and Its Members text and the American Congress Reader talk about many different facets of representation. First, define the concept of “descriptive” representation. What does this mean and how well does Congress descriptively represent the American people? Be clear and give examples. But there is also “substantive” representation. Discuss this concept and differentiate it from descriptive representation. What challenges do members of Congress face and how well do they substantively represent their constituents? Finally, what is the difference between dyadic and collective representation and which is more important?

4. Committees are key institutions within the Congress that help process the legislative workload. First, discuss the key features of the composition of committees: how members choose committees on which to serve, how members are assigned to committees, how chairmanships are assigned, and how party ratios on each committee are determined. Second, explain what committees actually do. What are their roles and tasks? Lastly, committees are sometimes in tension with the parties and party leadership. Explain the ways in which they often are at odds with each other. Should parties have more control over committees and members in general?

TWO SOURSES ALLOWED ONLY: https://books.google.com/books?id=UfmgAQAAQBAJ&pri...

AND American Congress Reader


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Explanation & Answer

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Congress and its Members
Q1
Congress is an institution that is known to undergo constant change. The changes are driven by
agenda's, and at times they can be big and at times small, and they are supported by the changes
taking place both internally and externally. Some of the changes that have occurred include the
overseeing of the government policies and the improvement on the decision-making the process
to help in improving the process of governance in the country. There are changes to the diversity
experienced in the Congress as there is more representation of the Hispanics and the Asians and
this assists in setting the right balance in the balancing of the races in the Senate. The women
share in the Congress has also improved, and this helps in ensuring that there is a balance of
gender in the Senate and representation of the various issues that the gender faces. There is an
increase in the number of women, and the growth has been steady since the 1920’s. In the past,
most of the congress members had experience in the military, and this has changed, and
currently, it has 20% of the senators that have previous experience in military and 195 of the
representatives. The decrease in the experience in the military started in 1965, and this means
that there is sharing of the different experiences in the Senate (Davidson, 16-18). Individually,
the members have increased their education, and this changes the scope of the tasks that they are
allocated. It means that they juggle between the legislative and the constituency tasks helping in

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the maintenance of connections in during the recession periods. There is an improvement in the
quality of work and focusing on the goals of the operation of the Congress.
The characterization of the changes is embracing of the needs of the people where the
perceptions towards the elected leaders change. People are now in sync with politics in different
parts of the country, and this has helped change the attitudes towards the work that they are
undertaking. The processes taken in the development of the policies helps in making sure that the
unions are in acceptance with characteristics of the people and focusing on their needs. The
expectations of the members of the Congress and the interests of the people diverge in various
ways, and this means that there is need to adopt the policies that focus on building the best
strategies that improve the qualities of the policies. The changes are desirable as there is a
response to the challenges that continue to face the community. There is an analysis of the
struggles that the people face and the initiatives created in enhancing the observation of the
different roles that the members play in improving effectiveness in the society.
The found...


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