Congress and Its Members

Preface<br >This book， like the first edition， is the product of our personal fascination and<br >professional experience with a most complex and perplexing body， the United<br >States Congress. As academic political scientists， we have written technical<br >studies about Congress and its lawmakers; taught undergraduate and<br >graduate courses; conducted workshops for officials in this country and in<br >Europe， Africa， and Latin America; and tried to interpret congressional<br >trends for wider audiences through lectures and writings. We also have been<br >privileged to serve as professional staff members for several House and Senate<br >committees and commissions that have attempted to reexamine congressional<br >organization and operations. Finally， we serve as \"in-house\" researchers in<br >the oldest of the four legislative support agencies， the Congressional Research<br >Service.<br > In writing this book， we have in mind both general readers seeking an<br >introduction to the modern Congress and college or university students taking<br >courses on the legislative process and national policy making. The book has as<br >its organizing theme the tensions between Congress as a collection of<br >individuals and Congress as an institution， but we have tried not to allow this<br >theme to obscure treatment of the history， structure， behavior， and policy role<br >of Congress.<br > As our first edition went to press in 1981， the Republicans had just<br >captured the Senate for the first time in a generation， and the Reagan<br >juggernaut was in full swing on Capitol Hill. It was one of those rare<br >moments--only the fourth in this century--when the irresistible momentum<br >of presidential leadership， backed by popular support， swept aside congres-<br >sional roadblocks to effect far-reaching shifts in the political agenda and<br >programmatic priorities.<br >XV<br >