Understanding Congress

The topic of this episode is, “How has Congress evolved as an institution?”

My guest is Eric Schickler, the author of the book, “Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress”. It is the 20th anniversary of this classic text, which won the Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize for the best book on legislative politics. Eric is the Jeffrey and Ashley McDermott Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

The topic of this episode is “How do legislators raise money to run for Congress?”

My guest is Weston Wamp, who is the Founder at Millennial Debt Foundation and a Senior Political Strategist at Issue One. He hails from Tennessee, and ran for Congress in 2014. If his last name is familiar to you, that is because he is the son of former member of the House Zach Wamp, a Republican who represented Tennessee's 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 2011. Weston, like his father, knows a thing or two about how fundraising has come to be a major part of getting to Congress and staying there. And I should add that he is the host of the program, “Swamp Stories,” which has examined the effects of fundraising on Congress.

The topic of this episode is, “How can a new staffer survive Congress?”

My guest is Mark Strand, the coauthor of the book, “Surviving Inside Congress.” Mark is the President of the Congressional Institute, a not-for-profit organization that helps Members of Congress better serve their constituents and that helps constituents better understand Congress. Mark has led the institute since 2007, and prior to that spent nearly 20 years working as a staffer for members and committees in the House of Representatives.

The topic of this episode is, “What does the Committee on House Administration do?”

And who better to answer this question than my guest, Representative Rodney Davis. He is the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, or CHA as it often is called. He has been on the committee since 2014. Rep. Davis currently serving his fifth term in Congress representing the 13th District of Illinois, which covers a 14-county region that includes both urban and rural communities in central and southwestern Illinois.

The topic of today’s episode is, “Are earmarks good or bad?”

My guest is Zachary Courser, a visiting assistant professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. He is the co-director of the Policy Lab at Claremont McKenna College, and the co-editor of the volume, Parchment Barriers: Political Polarization and the Limits of Constitutional Order. Zach also is the author of articles on conservatism and populism, and he is the coauthor of an American Enterprise Institute report titled, “Restoring the power of the purse: Earmarks and re-empowering legislators to deliver local benefits.”

The topic of today’s episode is, “Can Congress budget?”

My guest is Dr. Allen Schick. He is professor emeritus at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. He previously has held positions at the Congressional Research Service, the Urban Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Schick published three volumes with AEI press, which you can download and read, and many other books with distinguished presses.

His books include, Congress and Money: Spending, Taxing, and Budgeting (1980), Making Economic Policy in Congress (1984), The Capacity to Budget (1990) and The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process (1995).

Dr. Schick is the dean of budget policy, and we are very fortunate to have him on the program.

The topic of today’s episode is, “How does Congress fund itself?”

My guest is Daniel Schuman. He is the Policy Director at Demand Progress, a grassroots, nonpartisan organization with over 1.5 million affiliated activists fighting for the rights and freedoms needed for a modern democracy. Daniel has spent many years studying our national legislature, working to reform it, and advocating to better fund it. He also is the editor of the First Branch Forecast, an extraordinarily informative newsletter that you can read and subscribe to at no cost at https://firstbranchforecast.com/. 

The subject of today’s episode is, “What does the House rules committee do?”

My guest is Don Wolfensberger. He is a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. He served as a staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives for 28 years and was the director of the Rules Committee. Don is the author of two books: Changing Cultures in Congress: From Fair Play to Power Plays, and Congress and the People: Deliberative Democracy on Trial.

“How Congress tricks Americans” — that is the topic of this episode.

My guest is Prof. David Schoenbrod the author of the book, DC Confidential: Inside the Five Tricks of Washington. David is a Trustee Professor at New York Law School, where he teaches and studies environmental law, regulation, and other heady subjects. He also is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center.

“Is Congress Broken?” — that is the topic of this episode. My guest is Dr. Jack Pitney, the coeditor of the book, Is Congress Broken? The Virtues and Defects of Partisanship and Gridlock. Jack is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Politics at Claremont McKenna College, where he teaches American politics and government.

This book, which was coedited by William Connelley and Gary Schmitt, is a marvelous collection of essays written by top scholars. All of the chapters, I should note, are accessible to the lay reader. One need not be a political scientist or academic to enjoy this book, and come away with a  greater understanding of the First Branch.