POLS 2998W - The United States Congress, Process and Policy-Making - Fall 2025

Course Information

Course Location Meeting Days Time
SSH 235 Thursday 4:00-6:30pm


Instructor Information

Instructor E-Mail Office Location Hours
Dr. Jason S. Byers jason.byers@uconn.edu SSH 433 2:00 - 4:00pm TTH


Syllabus

Course Home
Everything you need for this class (announcements, resources, assignments and other activities) will be posted on HuskyCT. Please plan to check the page regularly.

Course Description
This course is intended as a broad survey of the legislative branch of the American government. In this course we discuss the origins and development of the U.S. Congress, the committee systems, legislative process, the role of political parties, and inter-branch relations. Particular attention is given to changes in Congress, as well as current political and scholarly controversies such as budgetary politics, party effects, and campaign finance reform.

Course Goals
The primary goal of this course is to familiarize the student with the workings of the United States Congress. The U.S. Congress is not only the oldest popularly elected legislative body, but also one of the most complex and powerful. A thorough understanding of the body requires not only a familiarity of its evolution and institutions, but a deep comprehension of the trade-offs inherent in policy-making. Throughout this course, we will attempt to get a handle on this by relating some of the basic political science literature on Congress to contemporary events.

Moreover, the U.S. Congress is both large and procedurally complex. Trying to understand it all is impractical. Accordingly, in this course a greater emphasis is going to be placed on understanding and utilizing congressional resources. Students should expect to learn how to find and access information on congress process and policy-making. This includes (but is not limited to): The Congressional Record, Congressional Research Service Reports; Historical Newspapers; CQ Almanac; ProQuest Congressional; Voteview; Google Scholar and Congress.gov.

At the end of this course, students should be equipped to do the following: (1) Describe, assess, and critique the rules and processes that govern lawmaking in both the House and the Senate; (2) Comprehend the many ways these rules impact policy-making; (3) Identify and access tools associated with the tracking of bills and policies; and (4) Examine and detail how a federal policy is made and has evolved over time.

Course Materials
There is no required book for this course. Instead, links to readings that correspond to each lecture are provided in the schedule below. These will also be posted in HuskyCT. Some of these readings will be highly technical in nature. As such, students are not expected to understand all aspects of each paper. However, they will be held accountable for a basic understanding of the paper’s theory and applications.

Students will not only be expected to have done the reading assignments, but should also be aware of relevant news stories. As such, I recommend reading a daily newspaper – such as the New York Times and/or the Washington Post – or at least checking CNN or Fox. Other political blogs that students may find useful include FiveThirtyEight, Political Wire, The Upshot, Vox, the Drudge Report and Roll Call.

Some optional Texts:

  • Oleszek, Walter J., Mark J. Oleszek, Elizabeth Rybicki and Bill Heniff, Jr. 2020. Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process. 11th Edition. CQ Press: Wash- ington, DC.

  • Mann, Robert. 1996. The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell, and the Struggle for Civil Rights. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc.

  • Murray, Alan and Jeffrey Birnbaum. 1987. Showdown at Gucci Gulch. Random House Publishing.

  • Mayhew, David. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. 2nd Edition. Yale University Press.

  • Draper, Robert. 2012. Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

  • Kaiser, Robert. 2013. Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t. New York, NY: Alfred Knopf.

  • Schickler, Eric. 2001. Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

University Policies
The University of Connecticut is committed to protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities and assuring that the learning environment is accessible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. Students who require accommodations should contact the Center for Students with Disabilities, Wilbur Cross Building Room 204, (860) 486 - 2020 or http://csd.uconn.edu/.

Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment and Related Interpersonal Violence
The University is committed to maintaining an environment free of discrimination or discriminatory harassment directed toward any person or group within its community – students, employees, or visitors. Academic and professional excellence can flourish only when each member of our community is assured an atmosphere of mutual respect. All members of the University community are responsible for the maintenance of an academic and work environment in which people are free to learn and work without fear of discrimination or discriminatory harassment. In addition, inappropriate amorous relationships can undermine the University’s mission when those in positions of authority abuse or appear to abuse their authority. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, the University prohibits discrimination and discriminatory harassment, as well as inappropriate amorous relationships, and such behavior will be met with appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the University. Additionally, to protect the campus community, all non-confidential University employees (including faculty) are required to report sexual assaults, intimate partner violence, and/or stalking involving a student that they witness or are told about to the Office of Institutional Equity. The University takes all reports with the utmost seriousness. Please be aware that while the information you provide will remain private, it will not be confidential and will be shared with University officials who can help. More information is available at equity.uconn.edu and titleix.uconn.edu.

Absences from Class Due to Religious Observances and Extra-Curricular Activities
Faculty and instructors are expected to reasonably accommodate individual religious practices unless doing so would result in fundamental alteration of class objectives or undue hardship to the University’s legitimate business purposes. Such accommodations may include rescheduling an exam or giving a make-up exam, allowing a presentation to be made on a different date or assigning the student appropriate make-up work that is intrinsically no more difficult than the original assignment. Faculty and instructors are strongly encouraged to allow students to complete work missed due to participation in extra-curricular activities that enrich their experience, support their scholarly development, and benefit the university community. Examples include participation in scholarly presentations, performing arts, and intercollegiate sports, when the participation is at the request of, or coordinated by, a University official. Students should be encouraged to review the course syllabus at the beginning of the semester for potential conflicts and promptly notify their instructor of any anticipated accommodation needs. Students are responsible for making arrangements in advance to make up missed work. For conflicts with final examinations, students should contact the Dean of Students Office.

Office of Emergency Management on Emergency Preparedness
In case of inclement weather, a natural disaster, or a campus emergency, the University communicates through email and text message. Students are encouraged to sign up for alerts through http://alert.uconn.edu. Students should be aware of emergency procedures, and further information is available through the Office of Emergency Management at http://publicsafety.uconn.edu/emergency/.

Course Organization
Modes of learning in this class (whether assessed directly or indirectly) require a range of skills and abilities. Every student’s success is important to me, and I am happy to work with you to develop strategies for success in this class.

  • Exam (20 Points). There will be one exam to assess your mastery of the material covered in the course. The exam will take place during class and will be completed individually.

  • Legislative History (80 Points). In order to demonstrate an understanding of the historical policy-making process, students are required to complete a paper analyzing the consideration and passage of a major piece of American legislation. After filling out the background survey, each student will be assigned to a piece of legislation. This paper will contain the following sections:

  • A Legislation Survey will be filled out for the purposes of matching the student with a legislative history topic. This is due on Thursday, September 11 at 4pm. (5 points)

  • A one-page Topic section detailing the broader issue the student will be analyzing. This section should include a broad discussion of the policy area, paying close attention to the topic’s importance and relevance. This section is due on Thursday, September 25 at 4pm. (10 points)

  • A two to three page Background section. This section will answer a specific question assigned by the instructor. Typically, this will necessitate contextualizing either the political climate the legislation was considered in or provide a history of the policy. Ideally, it will demonstrate why the legislation was needed. This section is due on Thursday, October 9 at 4pm (Due date for this section is optional if student wants feedback.). (15 points)

  • A two page Member Spotlight section. This section will begin the discussion of detailing at least one member of Congress associated with the passage of the law. It can include either a broad overview of a member’s career and/or an interesting episode they were involved in. Students are encouraged to focus on whatever details they feel are the most interesting. This section is due on Thursday, October 23 at 4pm (Due date for this section is optional if student wants feedback.). (15 points)

  • A two to three page Process section. This section analyzes committee and floor consideration of the measure during a specific period assigned by the instructor. The may involve House or Senate consideration of a bill or conference report and will likely necessitate the discussion of a given rule or legislative procedure. It will also likely necessitate analyzing a roll call vote. This section is due on Thursday, November 6 at 4pm (Due date for this section is optional if student wants feedback.). (15 points)

  • A one to two page Aftermath section. This section analyzes a post-enactment event related to the bill assigned to the student by the instructor. This might include the law being amended by a subsequent piece of legislation, being altered by a series of Supreme Court decisions or its enforcement by the President and bureaucracy. This section is due Thursday, November 20 at 4pm (Due date for this section is optional if student wants feedback.). (10 points)

  • A Final Paper that combines the Topic, Background, Member Spotlight, Process, and Aftermath sections. The final paper should incorporate any instructor comments and is due Thursday, December 4 at 4pm. (10 points)

    • Each of the sections mentioned above should be clearly labelled, written in Times New Roman 12-point font (main text) and Times News Roman 10-point font (footnotes). It should be single-spaced and include a references section. The Final Paper should contain ONE combined reference section.

Grading

Category Points
Exam 20 Points
Legislative History 80 Points

Your grade will be determined according to the following system:

Grade Points
A 94 or above
A- 90 - 93
B+ 87 - 89
B 84 - 86
B- 80 - 83
C+ 77 - 79
C 74 - 76
C- 70 - 73
D+ 67 - 69
D 64 - 66
D- 60 - 63
F 0 - 59

Schedule

A tentative class schedule of topics, readings and due dates is available below. Minor adjustments will be made as needed, on the course web page. Please double check the web page before doing each reading assignment.

Week 1

Topics

  • Introduction
  • Key Take-Away Points about Congress

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

8/28 \(~~~~\) Introduction
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) CRS and The Legislative Process
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Help! We are Living in Hell!

Assignments

Week 2

Topics - How a Bill Becomes a Law: House - How a Bill Becomes a Law: Senate

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

9/4 \(~~~~~~\) CRS: Introduction to the Legislative Process

Assignments

Week 3

Topics - APSA Meeting

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

9/11 \(~~~~\) NO CLASS

Assignments

  • Legislation Survey DUE

Week 4

Topics

  • Constitutional Foundations of Congress
  • Why Rules?

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

9/18 \(~~~~\) US Constitution
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Cox (2000)

Assignments

Week 5

Topics

  • Committees and Leaders
  • Power in the House

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

9/25 \(~~~~\) The Committee System
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Party Leaders in the House
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Cooper and Brady (1981)

Assignments

  • Topic Section DUE

Week 6

Topics

  • Spatial Modeling in Congress
  • The House Rules Committee

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

10/2 \(~~~~\) Vick et al. (2020)
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Shepsle and Bonchek Ch. 5

Assignments

Week 7

Topics

  • Committee-Gatekeeper
  • The House Floor

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

10/9 \(~~\) Legislation on the House Floor
\(~~~~~~~~~\) House Voting Procedures

Assignments

  • Background Section DUE

Week 8

Topics

  • Ideological Scaling
  • House Rule Choice
  • Using Resources: Voteview
  • Exam 1

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

10/16 \(~~\) Exam 1
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Congress is more Polarized
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Schickler and Rich (1997)
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Cox and McCubbins (1997)
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Binder (1996)

Assignments

  • Exam 1 DUE

Week 9

Topics

  • Parties in Congress

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

10/23 \(~~\) Krehbiel (1995)
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Binder et al. (1999)
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Counting Laws

Assignments

  • Member Spotlight Section DUE

Week 10

Topics

  • Senate Floor Procedures
  • Senate Origins and Development
  • The Evolution of the Senate Filibuster

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

10/30 \(~~\) Madonna (2011)
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Wawro and Schickler (2004)
\(~~~~~~~~~~~\) Filibusters and Cloture

Assignments

Week 11

Topics

  • Resolving Differences
  • Congressional Staff
  • The Bureaucracy

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

11/6 \(~~\) Resolving Legislative Differences
\(~~~~~~~~~\) Amendments Between the Houses

Assignments

  • Process Section DUE

Week 12

Topics

  • Negotiations and Delegation
  • Elections and Fundraising

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

11/13 \(~~\) Finocchiaro and Rohde (2008)

Assignments

Week 13

Topics

  • “Fixing” Congress and Conclusions

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

11/20 \(~~\) Binder and Lee (2013)
\(~~~~~~~~~~\) Last Week Tonight
\(~~~~~~~~~~\) Confessions of a Congressmen
\(~~~~~~~~~~\) Crespin and Madonna (2016)

Assignments

  • Aftermath Section DUE

Week 14

Topics

  • Thanksgiving Break

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

11/27 \(~~\) NO CLASS

Assignments

Week 15

Topics

  • Legislative History Paper

Date \(~~~~\) Readings

12/4 \(~~\) Legislative History Paper DUE

Assignments

  • Legislative History Paper DUE