Course Syllabus PLSC 315: Legislative Politics Fall 2017 CRN: 12910 Class Time: M, F 1:00 2:15 PM Class Location: Fraser Hall 103 Professor: Kenneth Miller millerk@geneseo.edu Office: Fraser Hall 105 E Office Hours: Wed. 12:00 3:00 Course Description and Objectives The U.S. Congress is our most democratic federal institution, but the American public doesn t like it very much. Approval of Congress performance has hovered around 15% since 2011, compared to presidential approval over that same time span that has ranged from 40% to 55%. Lawmaking is difficult and it can seem complicated. Is the public s dim view of Congress because the public simply doesn t understand Congress? Or is Congress not functioning as it should, and the public doesn t like what it sees? To decide if we think the public is being unfair to Congress, or if the public is correct that something is amiss, we need to study how Congress works. In this course we will study the origins of the institution, the legislative process, the various factors that influence how members of Congress behave, how Congress interacts with the other branches of government, and what this all means for public policies. If you and I have both been successful in this course, you should be able to: recall and explain electoral, institutional, and systemic features of the U.S. Congress; accurately apply political science concepts that relate to Congress; and demonstrate the ability to think and write critically about the U.S. Congress, as evidenced in exams, in-class discussions, and an applied paper project. American Government (PLSC 110) is a prerequisite for this course. Course Format The course will be a mix of lecture and discussion, and at times I will ask questions of the class. You should feel free to ask me questions if anything is unclear, or if you would like more information on a subject. In addition, we will frequently start class with a discussion of relevant news related to Congress, so you should come to class prepared to raise interesting stories or questions from the news. I recommend reading a daily newspaper (Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal are all high quality and offer deep discounts or even free subscriptions for students). Roll Call is an excellent source of daily news about Capitol Hill, and The Hill is good too. 1
Attendance The lectures and accompanying discussions do not repeat the readings, so not attending class is a bad idea. Furthermore, in-class discussion points (see below) cannot be made up, so not attending class carries the risk of losing points on your final discussion grade for the course. Evaluation There will be two in-class exams each worth 25% of your grade (50% total), a writing project worth 35% of your grade, and in-class discussion and participation will count for 15% of your grade. There will be no extra credit in this course. Date Portion of Course Grade Midterm Exam 10/27 25% Applied Writing Project 12/01 35% Final Exam 12/18 25% Discussion/Participation Ongoing 15% Exams: 50% There will be two exams in this course, a midterm and a final. The exams cover both the readings and lecture material. The exams are not cumulative. The format for the exams will be multiple choice and brief essay. Multiple-choice questions will have five response options and essay questions will ask for one or two paragraphs in response. Each short essay will be graded from 0-5 where you start at 0 and work your way up to 5. For example, a basically correct answer earns a 3 while an answer that demonstrates that you can apply the concept to politics more broadly earns a 5. Both exams must be taken in class, on the day and time that they are administered. Makeup exams are only given for: (1) University sanctioned events (verification required); (2) extreme emergencies (and I am the sole arbiter of what constitutes an extreme emergency); or (3) religious observations. If you intend to miss class for a religious holiday, UT Austin policy requires that you notify me of your pending absence at least 14 days in advance. Applied Writing Project: 35% This course will have a writing assignment where you apply the concepts of the course to address specific legislative challenge or event. Some examples are: A strategy memo for a Member or an interest group seeking to pass a bill. What needs to be done? What are the threats to passage? Take a major piece of legislation and analyze why it succeeded, and how the institutional features of Congress affected the final form of the bill. A post-mortem on a failed legislative effort. Why did the policy change fail? What could the proponents have done differently? What did the opponents do well? I am open to other ideas. Visit me in office hours and let s work out a plan that works for you. 2
The essay/memo should be about 12 pages, +/- 2 pages. It must be typed, doublespaced, with 12 point font and 1 to 1.5 inch margins. You will need to use some outside sources for background on the topic, but this is not a research project that requires numerous outside academic sources. You must include citations of non-original arguments, material from the readings, and any outside sources. The project is due at the beginning of class on Monday, November 20, 2017. Structured Discussions: 15% Throughout the semester there will be numerous structured discussions. These begin with me presenting 2 or 3 broad, open-ended questions. We will take a few minutes for everyone to compose their thoughts and write down some ideas on a sheet of paper, then collectively discuss what we came up with. Afterwards I will collect these sheets. Points are awarded for the depth of responses, not for specific answers. Because of their nature there will be no make-ups for missed discussion, but the lowest single grade will be dropped. For example, if we had 8 structured discussions in the semester and a student has 6 with 5/5, 1 with 3/5, and missed 1 (0/5), then the student drops the one that she missed and the overall grade is counted as: (6 1)+(1.6) / 7 = 94%. Overall course grades are assigned according to the following scale: 94% - 100% A 73% - 76% C 90% - 93% A- 70% - 72% C- 87% - 89% B+ 67% - 69% D+ 83% - 86% B 63% - 66% D 80% - 82% B- 60% - 62% D- 77% - 79% C+ 0% - 59% F Course Materials Two books are required for this course: The American Congress, 9 th Edition. by Smith, Roberts, and Weilen. Cambridge Press The American Congress Reader, 1 st Edition. Smith, Roberts, and Weilen, eds. Cambridge Press Additional readings will be provided online. Other Policies and Procedures Classroom Environment: I will do my part to start and end class on time: we will start at 1:00 PM and end by 2:15 PM. Please do your part and do not make a habit of arriving late to class or leaving class early. I encourage you to engage in class discussions, ask questions, and respond when I ask you questions. However, side discussions during lecture are distracting and make my job a lot harder. Technology: Laptops and tablets are welcome in class for taking notes. Using laptops and tablets in a manner that is distracting to the instructor or other students, or in an otherwise 3
inappropriate way is not acceptable. If students report distracting behavior with laptops and tablets this policy may change and the devices may be banned from the class. Turn off all mobile phones prior to entering the classroom. Texting and messaging on laptops and tablets during class in not acceptable. Readings: You should perform the readings listed on the syllabus in preparation for the week on which they are listed. In other words, the reading assigned for 9/8 should be completed before class on 9/8. In this class the lectures will often be used to highlight material different than the reading, so it is necessary to do both do the reading and regularly attend class to be fully prepared for exams. Communication: The best way to communicate with me is during office hours. I encourage you to visit me in office hours for any reason: you are having trouble with something, you have questions, you just want to talk politics, or most anything else. Email correspondence is also welcome. Please format your emails as business correspondence, with a greeting and signature. I will try to get to your emails within 24 hours or, at the latest, during my next scheduled office hours unless the answer to a question is in the syllabus or was discussed in class (in which case you should consult a classmate). I may also answer through a general email to the class, rather than writing you back personally if your question reflects a general concern. I am also available after class, during office hours, or by appointment if you cannot make my office hours. Procedures for Dealing with Grade/Evaluation Concerns: Grade/evaluation concerns will only be considered if the following procedure is followed: All grade complaints must be typed and must clearly express the student s specific concerns. These written statements must be accompanied by citations of support from course materials, i.e. readings, textbook, and/or lecture notes, in order to ensure accuracy. Written statements will not be considered until one week after the assignment is returned to students. This allows the student time to reread his/her answers and think carefully about what improvements could have been made. Grievances will not be considered once two weeks have passed. For example, if I return a graded assignment on Monday, the student must submit a complaint before the Friday of the following week. Once class is over on that Friday, no complaints will be considered for that assignment. In other words, there is a one-week window to submit a written statement. Since class time is limited, I will only deal with questions or concerns during scheduled office hours. Finally, submitting a grade grievance will result in a complete re-grade of the assignment. Disability Accommodations: Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Office of Disability Services: https://www.geneseo.edu/dean_office/disability_services If you require accommodation, it is your responsibility to bring your note to me EARLY in the semester (2 nd week of class) so we can work out our arrangements. Academic Integrity: Plagiarism, cheating, and other academic misconduct are serious violations of your contract as a student. Plagiarism is using someone else s language without quotations and attribution or using someone else s idea (even in different 4
language) without attribution. Incidents of cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty will be treated per the university guidelines. For more information about academic standards of conduct please see Academic Dishonesty page on the Dean of Students site: https://www.geneseo.edu/dean_office/dishonesty Emergency Evacuation Policy: In the event of a fire or other emergency, it may be necessary to evacuate a building rapidly. Students should familiarize themselves with all the exit doors of each room and building they occupy at the university, and should remember that the nearest exit routes may not be the same as the way they typically enter buildings. Students requiring assistance in evacuation should inform me during the first week of class. 5
Course Schedule and Required Readings Because some topics may run long and some topics may wrap up a little more quickly the precise dates on this schedule are a best guess. If larger changes to the schedule are needed, I will inform everyone in class and online. Readings noted as TAC are from The American Congress textbook. Other readings can be found in the supplemental reader, or will be provided online. Any additions or subtractions to the list will be announced in class prior to that week s reading. Week 1 8/28: Introduction I will be out of town attending a professional conference on 9/1, so we will have no class that day Week 2 9/8: The State of Congress 9/4 is Labor Day. No class. What is Wrong with the American Political System? John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse A Reassessment of Who s to Blame: A Positive Case for the Public Evaluation of Congress. David W. Brady and Sean M. Theriault Between the Campaign: Public Approval and Disapproval of Government James A. Stimson Week 2 9/11 and 9/15: Congress and the Constitution TAC, Chapter 2 The U.S. Constitution, Article I Federalist, Nos. 10 and 51. James Madison Week 3 9/18 and 9/22: Electing Senators and Representatives TAC, Chapter 3 Strategic Politicians and the Dynamics of U.S. House Elections, 1946-1986. Gary C. Jacobson Week 4 9/25 and 9/29: Members of Congress TAC, Chapter 4 U.S. House Members in Their Constituencies: An Exploration. Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Congress: The Electoral Connection. David R. Mayhew Senate Representation and Coalition Building in Distributive Politics. Frances E. Lee Week 5 10/2 and 10/6: Parties in Congress TAC, Chapter 5 Institutional Context and Leadership Style: The House from Cannon to Rayburn. Joseph Cooper and David W. Brady Setting the Agenda. Gary W. Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins 6
Week 6 10/13: Committees 10/9 is during Fall Break. No Class TAC, Chapter 6 Principals, Goals, Dimensionality, and Congressional Committees. Forrest Maltzman and Stephen S. Smith Nonlegislative Hearings and Policy Change in Congress. Jeffrey C. Talbert, Bryan D. Jones, and Frank R. Baumgartner Week 7 10/16 and 10/20: The Legislative Process TAC, Chapters 7 and 8 Sample of a Special Rule Sample of a Unanimous Consent Agreement On the Effects of Legislative Rules. Gary W. Cox The Partisan Basis of Procedural Choice: Allocating Parliamentary Rights in the House, 1789-1990. Sarah A. Binder Greasing the Wheels: Using Pork Barrel Projects to Build Majority Coalitions in Congress. Excerpt. Diana Evans Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking. Keith Krehbiel Week 8 10/23 and 10/27: Catch-up, Review, and First Exam on 10/27 Week 9 10/30 and 11/03: Polarization and Gridlock The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947-1996. Sarah A. Binder Party Wars: Polarization and the Politics of National Policy Making. Ch. 10. Barbara Sinclair Party Polarization in Congress. Ch. 7. Sean M. Theriault Consequences of Electoral and Institutional Change: The Evolution of Conditional Party Government in the U.S. House of Representatives. In New Directions in American Political Parties. David Rohde and John Aldrich Week 10 11/6 and 11/10: The President and Congress TAC, Chapter 9 Veto Bargaining: Presidents and the Politics of Negative Power. Charles M. Cameron The Politics of Shared Power: Congress and the Executive. Excerpt. Louis Fisher Week 11 11/13: The Courts and Congress TAC, Chapter 10 Senate Voting on Supreme Court Nominees: A Neoinstitutional Model. Charles M. Cameron, Albert D. Cover, and Jeffrey A. Segal From Abe Fortas to Zoë Baird: Why Some Presidential Nominations Fail in the Senate. Glen S. Krutz, Richard Fleisher, and Jon R. Bond 7
Week 12 11/17 and 11/20: Interest Groups and Congress TAC, Chapter 11 Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees. Richard L. Hall and Frank W. Wayman Legislative Lobbying. Excerpt. John Wright Happy Thanksgiving! Week 13 11/27 and 12/1: Making Public Policy TAC, Chapter 12 Appropriations in the Republican Era. Diana Evans Applied Projects Due, 12/1 Week 14 12/4 and 12/8: Re-Assessing the State of Congress Week 15 12/11: Review for Final and Wrap-up Final Exam: Monday, December 18, 8:00 AM 10:30 AM 8