This book explores why some members of Congress are more effective than others at navigating the legislative process and what this means for how Congress is organized and what policies it produces. Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman develop a new metric of individual legislator effectiveness (the Legislative Effectiveness Score) that will be of interest to scholars, voters, and politicians alike. They use these scores to study party influence in Congress, the successes or failures of women and African Americans in Congress, policy gridlock, and the specific strategies that lawmakers employ to advance their agendas.

While governmental policies and institutions may remain more or less the same for years, they can also change suddenly and unpredictably in response to new political agendas and crises. What causes stability or change in the political system? What role do political institutions play in this process? To investigate these questions, Policy Dynamics draws on the most extensive data set yet compiled for public policy issues in the United States. Spanning the past half-century, these data make it possible to trace policies and legislation, public and media attention to them, and governmental decisions over time and across institutions. Some chapters analyze particular policy areas, such as health care, national security, and immigration, while others focus on institutional questions such as congressional procedures and agendas and the differing responses by Congress and the Supreme Court to new issues. Policy Dynamics presents a radical vision of how the federal government evolves in response to new challenges-and the research tools that others may use to critique or extend that vision.

Updated with complete information for the 107th Congress, this volume features profiles on every member of Congress. Each profile examines the member's performance in Congress and major accomplishments.

The essential roadmap to the events of the past two years and the years to come, "The Almanac of American Politics 1998" features a wealth of information about national, state, and local governments, including profiles of all 535 members of Congress and all 50 governors, voting records on major legislation, updated maps of congressional districts, and more.

The 2018 Almanac of American Politics remains the gold standard of accessible political information, relied on by everyone involved, invested or interested in politics in America. Highly regarded for its in-depth analysis and comprehensive profiles of every congressional district, state, governor and member of Congress, The Almanac is the tool you need to better understand the context of the people and perspectives shaping the issues that matter to you. The Almanac of American Politics is the must have resource for understanding the American political landscape. The 2018 edition includes: -In-depth profiles of every governor, Senator, and House member. -Updated demographic information for every state and district, including information from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, with new categories of economic, occupational, social and geographic data. -Analysis of the 2016 elections for Senate, House and governor races, and how those results shape the public policy debates in Congress and the nation. -A breakdown of the votes cast for President in 2016 for all states and districts, including primaries. -All new: Presidential profile on President Donald Trump. -All new: Campaign finance data on spending by all Senate and House members in their most recent election, including all-new listings of the "outside money" spent in those contests. -All new: Analysis of voter turnout in each state and congressional district for the 2016 presidential elections. -More than 60 state and congressional district maps, the key votes cast by members of the House and Senate, interest group ratings, and more. Essential reference and contact information.